ANBU
by God Amongst Mere Mortals
Summary: Their true names allowed them to escape from a world that had tortured and burned them. That hurt could never reach them; not when they were Dark Fox and Night Orchid. They were impervious. They were ANBU.
1. Enter Naruto

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

A boy has the right to dream. There are endless possibilities stretched out before him. What awaits him down the path, he will then have to choose.

The boy doesn't always know.

At some point the boy then becomes an adult and learns what he was able to become. Joy and sadness forever will accompany this.

He is confronted with a choice. When this happens, does he bid his past farewell in his heart? Once a boy becomes and adult he can no longer go back to being a boy.

The boy is now a man.

Only one thing can be said. A boy has the right to dream, for those endless possibilities are stretched out before him.

We must remember: all men were once boys.

_-Outlaw Star_

* * *

_**ANBU**_

**Part I**

**

* * *

**

+Uzumaki Naruto +

+Age: 19 +

+Sex: Male +

+Height: 6' +

+Weight: 175 lbs. +

+Rank: Jonin Black ops. +

+Allegiance: Konoha +

+Notes: Emphasis on taijutsu and ninjutsu. Large chakra reserves. +

* * *

The print on his new identification card was crisp and clear. It was, in his opinion, a noticeable improvement. The old ones had too much information crammed onto them in tiny print. A quick once-over was all that was really needed, since they were only worn inside the village. The guards at his complex knew him already, so they did little more than going through the motions. They'd be a lot happier to waste less time reading the info and help him along his way to the city proper.

It was strange at first. Being constantly monitored, passing through the small entryway in the large steel parameter wall that surrounded the apartment complex, being segregated from the civilians into different quarters, checking in with a new mission every day to verify the legitimacy of his absence, all of these things were now routine for him. Well, not just him. In fact, it was standard for nearly every shinobi in the village that didn't possess a certain level of prestige; anyone who wasn't in a clan, wasn't the commander of a specific branch of Konoha's shinobi operations, wasn't retired and wasn't the Hokage.

Yes, things certainly had changed in the last four years…

In the aftermath of Pain's attack on Konoha many were left dead and the government was thrown into chaos. After it was apparent that Tsunade would not recover, Danzo took control. Since then drastic changes fell upon the ranks of Konoha's shinobi. There was no 'Will of Fire' anymore. Gone were the days when they could mix and mingle with the citizens of the great walled city. Now they kept to themselves in separate quarters, in a different sector of the village, and under the highest levels of security.

His life was better now. After he had brought Sasuke back he had been named as one of the city's champions. Of course many were given the title: Hatake Kakashi, the Akamichi clan, Sarutobi Konohamaru, the Nara clan, Tsunade (post mortis), the Inuzuka clan… any and all who had sacrificed or risked their lives to kill one of Pain's avatars with a single exception.

She was a strange one. Apparently she had saved his life, jumping in at the last moment to confront Pain. She was struck down and nearly died, but she bought him the precious seconds he needed to…to… well he didn't remember much until after that little meeting with his father. He hadn't been conscious when he was under the Fox's influence. All he remembered was extreme anger and a few fractured memories of what took place in the last five minutes preceding his transformation. Short term memory loss was, in retrospect, one of the side effects of going above three tails of power. Still, there had been numerous witnesses and she seemed brave enough. He recalled her doomed match against her cousin six years earlier.

Yeah, she was a strange one all right… that Hyuuga Hinata.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel a little jaded. His title had been equal, but hadn't he been the one to save the village? Hadn't he avenged his master and taken down the remaining incarnations of Pain? Hadn't he redeemed the irredeemable when Pain sacrificed himself for the lives of the villagers? Had the villagers really forgotten the words they said when he returned, beaten and battered from battle?

'We believe in you, Naruto!'

Everything had been so simple then. Hokage this and Hokage that. It was only after the death of his master, Jiraiya, that he had begun to see the truth. His eyes had been brutally pried open until he could no longer deny what he saw. Raw determination could not change the world. Time would pass, history would mark you down in the books, but ultimately no man could rule another's fate.

When the afterglow of his heroism had faded the village went back to viewing him as he once was… almost. They feared him, but he was human now. No longer was he a demon that walked among them. Instead he was a weapon- a man capable of incredible destruction should he ever break loose. It wasn't the kind of respect he had once desired, but he had to admit, it was better than what he had expected.

He had expected to be executed.

After the Tsunade's official death Danzo had any Konaha shinobi he deemed a threat to the village killed publicly. Iruka had been on that list…

He could never forgive Danzo for doing it. He didn't know what the reason was, but he was sure his sensei had been innocent. Of course, being a part of ROOT gave him access to information most could only dream of. Soon he would have his answers.

He wasn't stupid, as some believed him to be. When he was young he had been hot-headed and immature. The loss of friends and those he considered his family had sobered him greatly. If anything, he took after Kakashi now. Not in the perverted sense; he just enjoyed his solitude. He had no desire for company other than the occasional drinks he shared with some of the old Konaha twelve.

Sasuke was, ironically, his closest friend. After all he had put him through he still couldn't bring himself to hate him. It had been Sasuke who turned the tide against Madara in the final battle. The Uchiha had seen the light, or so he said.

Who was he, Naruto, a demon, to question someone seeking redemption?

Since then the two had fallen back into their old routine almost like clockwork. The constant banter between the two was infamous among the shinobi of Konaha, second only to the massive tirades between Sasuke and Sakura.

The pink haired banshee had finally gotten her wish and was paying for it dearly. Sasuke wasn't the greatest husband to ever live. In fact, Naruto was pretty sure he had agreed to Sakura's proposal just to shut her up. Fortunately for Sasuke their jobs didn't allow them much time to see each other. He was in ANBU and she worked as the head of the medical staff with Shizune as her aid.

Shizune, Naruto really felt sorrow for her. With the death of her master a lot of Shizune's spark had been taken away. After she'd lost Iruka the apprentice medic-nin became a shell of a woman. Sakura had managed to convince her to go and work in the hospital again. It had probably saved her life.

He tried not to linger on the troubles of others. Negative emotions could interfere with missions. In his line of work losing focus for even a second often meant the difference between life and death. No matter how powerful one became, no matter how many unbeatable techniques one possessed, a single kunai could bring death in a moment of negligence. Kakashi had once explained to him that the reason he was still alive was that he never disregarded his own mortality.

There were other dangers too. The sharingan wielder was well aware of the thin line he walked between the world of shadows and the world of the living. If one strayed too far into the darkness there was no coming back. Recently he had been stressing this to his former pupil, but Naruto ignored his sensei's misplaced paranoia. How could he, a demon, succumb to darkness? He had conquered the Kyuubi contained within his soul. Depression wasn't about to beat him where a god-fox couldn't.

Still, he had to admit that something felt off as of late. He was a standard antisocial, not that there was much of a social life to be had as a shinobi anymore. Yet even for a shinobi, even considering who he was, from an outsiders perspective he was behaving strangely. Perhaps it was his prolonged isolation, or perhaps it was the oddest feeling he had that something was coming… something big…

It was probably nothing. Best to forget it over a drink with the Hatake.

Outside of his old team Naruto didn't see anyone very regularly, save maybe Shikamaru and Hinata. The former had become the puppet Hokage of Konaha, so it was on a fairly regular basis that he saw the shadow user. Shikamaru was an excellent Hokage, or at least as excellent as one could be considering his position was more of a formality now. Genius that he was, Shikamaru was slowly getting more and more sway over the village and the council. Naruto hoped that one day he would restore the post to its former glory. If anyone could it was Shikamaru.

Hinata was a different story. It had all started the day Naruto had heard that the young heiress had begun to accept suitors, or rather, challenge them. By Hyuuga law she had the privilege to challenge any suitor who approached her to a duel. Should she win, she was given the choice to decline them, or judge them worthy of her.

Being a suitor didn't guarantee marriage. In fact, there had been a long line of suitors until Hinata had begun to whittle it down. The only one that Naruto knew personally was Kiba. The poor Inuzuka had been sent back with his 'tail between his legs' so to speak.

That was where he came in.

One day, Hinata lost a match to a suitor from Kumogakure. Kumo was infamous for its lust of Konohagakure kekke genkai, and a willful marriage would have solidified the tenuous bonds between the countries. Hinata had, in truth, been forced to lose the match by her father, who she still had difficulty dealing with. After she had proven herself as a capable jonin he had let her reclaim her position as heir, but he still ruled his clan with an iron fist. Hyuuga Hiashi had never been a lenient man.

So she had asked Naruto to beat him. It was a simple loophole really. All he had to do was request to be Hinata's suitor, beat her in a match, and then challenge the man from Kumo to a duel. Assuming he won both, he would kick the foreign shinobi off the list and afterwards he could formally withdraw his name from her list. In reality the hardest part had been convincing Hiashi to allow him to be added to the list. It was only after Hinata's insistence and the stipulation that he had to beat her that the Hyuuga lord finally conceited. It had been a good match, but Hinata hadn't really given it her all. In the end Naruto had been the victor, as planned, but he was always left wondering at what the outcome of a real fight would have been.

He would have to find out one day. The only person who had ever been able to challenge him like Hinata had had been Sasuke, and the Uchiha rarely held back. Perhaps Hinata had achieved more than he really knew. Of course she could never beat him; no one could… not that he had heard of anyway. He was just curious to see her true potential. Had she inherited the Hyuuga bloodline stronger than Neji?

He decided he didn't care one way or another.

What he did care about though was the odd request she had approached him with. After he had defeated the man from Kumo (who turned out to be pretty strong himself, though no where near as good as Hinata) the Hyuuga heiress had asked that Naruto keep himself on the list. The proposition had been presented so that if Hinata was forced into losing again, Naruto would defeat who ever it was that came to claim her hand- assuming she didn't want to marry whoever the guy was. Then again, she had very high standards, at least as far as he knew. So far none of her suitors had stayed on the list except Naruto himself, and that was for practicality (or at least he thought so.)

So it was with a little trepidation he accepted, though he had yet to be called on again to defeat another would be suitor. From time to time he would check in with her to see how it was progressing. So far, no one had sparked her interest… he was actually beginning to get nervous. Hinata had begun accepting suitors on her sixteenth birthday, the legal age for the village. It had been nearly three years since then, and over two since Naruto had defeated the man from Kumo. He hoped she would pick someone soon. He couldn't exactly withdraw his name from the list without it being a huge insult to the Hyuuga clan. Being the Kyuubi container didn't help his situation any. On the other hand he had inherited his father's estate a year ago, when he was deemed responsible enough to handle all of the old Namikaze family wealth. Naruto had decided to keep his last name as Uzumaki, though, in honor of his late mother, Kushina.

Being the son of the fourth had probably done more for his reputation than anything else. For those who knew Naruto it made little difference, he was just the same kid they grew up with those many years ago. He wouldn't have had it any other way. Formalities among friends were just way too weird for him. Being more mature, he wasn't apt to be an obnoxious show off anymore, despite his reputation as one of Konaha's strongest, ranked right next to Kakashi and Gai. The copy-nin had somehow managed to survive the horrendous over usage of chakra he had put himself through during the assault on Konoha. Naruto had begun to think that if Kakashi specialized in anything it was that he just didn't die. Ever. He had honestly never known a shinobi who had so many brushes with death and lived every time.

Gai seemed impervious as well, though he didn't accept S rank after S rank like the legendary sharingan wielder. Instead he was the head coordinator of intensive taijutsu in the ANBU training program, a sort of boot camp that all new recruits were force fed through. Assuming they made it all the way through they would be partnered with a more senior black ops. member. A veteran who would show them the ropes of what did and didn't get you killed in the field.

Which was exactly why Naruto was walking to the Hokage tower.

It was his turn, or so they told him, to take on a rookie. He wasn't very pleased with the idea.

He was a solo man, bred and born, taken to doing things in his own style. He was nearly a one-man army, and could carry out the jobs of multiple shinobi with his shadow clones. The completion of his fusion with the Kyuubi had granted him better chakra control than he had ever had, and so his limitless stamina had become even more absurd. Add in being the first and only shinobi to master the usage of nature chakra while in combat by himself, and he was virtually unstoppable.

Of course his genjutsu was pretty weak, and he was limited to the wind element give or take a few C ranked jutsu in the others with one or two B ranks in fire (his second elemental attunement he had discovered, likely a side effect of hosting a nine tailed fire demon inside him and merging with it) but that didn't mean his taijutsu didn't more than make up for it.

He had never been able to master his father's jutsu. The technique that had given him the nickname 'Konaha's Yellow Flash' had truly been his and his alone. It was also true that what Naruto lacked in godly speed techniques he made up in raw power. Nothing could match the might of his futon rasenshuriken as far as he knew. With the addition of nature chakra he had been able to reinforce his arm in a way that prevented the horrible damage it did on the cellular level, instead it just left it bloodied and battered- nothing that a halfway decent medical shinobi couldn't fix. Then again he could always toss it… if it worked on Pain it would work on pretty much everything else. Of course even he could run out of chakra and succumb to his wounds eventually…

That was his one weakness, he supposed. Although the power of the Kyuubi he wielded healed him at a faster than normal rate he wasn't invincible. A medical shinobi would be a real asset to him… especially one fluent in genjutsu.

Somehow he didn't think he would be so lucky.

And so it was with more than a little hesitation that he finally turned the handle on the door to the Hokage's office and stepped inside.

"Took you long enough. If you'd waited out there any longer I was going to drag your ass in here with kage-mane no jutsu." Shikamaru drawled from behind some logistics scattered on his desk. He took a slow drag on the cigarette pursed between his lips. "Your wearing that stupid expression you get whenever something pisses you off." He observed. "What the hell are you worried about anyway?"

"Hn?"

"Don't 'hn' me. That's the Uchiha's brand of bullshit."

"I aint worried about shit, you lazy bastard. Don't think that just because you're all high and mighty now that you can boss me around." Naruto's frown broke into an easy smile. "Then again, it was me who was always ranting about becoming Hokage back in the day wasn't it? Funny how things turn out in the way you would least expect them."

Shikamaru nodded his agreement. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"So what's the damage?" The blonde ANBU queried.

"You mean the new partner assignment?"

"You know damn-well what I mean." He growled.

"You know those bastards down at HQ really had it in for you. You have no idea how many strings I had to pull to get you a halfway decent partner. I'm not sure if you'll be pleased with me, or just downright pissed." Naruto cocked an eyebrow at the statement. "But I can assure you that you won't be disappointed."

"Oh really?" The he replied suspiciously. "Why's that? This new recruit wouldn't happen to be skilled in genjutsu and medical now would he?"

"You're kidding yourself if you think I was going to let you off that easy… only moderate medical jutsu. No genjutsu to speak of. A heavy emphasis on taijutsu with a few high rank water jutsu here and there." Shikamaru listed off the numerous things written on the shinobi's profile. "More speed than power and great tracking skills… I assure you your partner is everything you will need in the field. Maybe she'll even get you to lighten up a bit, you tight bastard. You're almost worse than Sasuke these days."

Naruto snorted at the thought. "Me, more stuck up than that Teme? Come on Shika, don't give me that crap- did you say 'she?' Hell, Shikamaru. You did not just stick with some wimp-ass girl."

"That's Hokage-sama to you, and she's hardly a wimp. If anything this one will keep you on your toes." The Hokage made an over dramatic act of shaking his finger at the rebellious blonde. "Maybe she'll even beat some manners into you too. You always lack the finer side of the equation when it comes to dealing with the clientele. Maybe she'll even convince you to shower more than once a month."

"Don't be disgusting Shikamaru," Naruto bantered, ignoring the shadow user's mock demand for formality, "I shower at least once every three days."

"…"

"…"

"You know I really didn't need that particular piece of information, especially from you Naruto." Shikamaru complained half heartedly, shuffling the papers cluttering his desk. "Here."

He snuffed out his cigarette in his gold plated ashtray, a real extravagance in Naruto's opinion. Casually he reached into a drawer beside him and pulled out a small jug of sake and two glasses. Shikamaru poured them each a healthy shot- it was hard rice liquor. "Here's to your new partner."

"Here's to hoping she dies off so I can do solo work again." Naruto remarked sarcastically.

Both took their shot one gulp. This done, the Hokage put the glasses discreetly back into the hidden compartment in his desk (installed by the fifth for obvious reasons) and handed Naruto the piece of paper with the name of his newest assignment on it. The burn in his throat was still fresh as he read the name printed on the information that had just sealed his fate.

"No way…" His eyes widened.

It was just a little weird. Even for him. That it would be her of all people… was this what he had been sensing over the last few days?

'Something coming… something big…' The words floated through his mind.

"Send her in." Shikamaru raised his voice loud enough for the guard outside to hear.

The door to the Hokage's office creaked open. A beautiful woman sporting magnificent blue-black hair that went just below her shoulder blades and the most bewitching pale lavender eyes entered. She was shorter than him by a few inches; maybe she was 5'8. Tallish for one of her sex, but then again, Naruto was pretty tall himself, so he didn't mind. What he did mind was how distracted she was going to make him wearing the ANBU gear that clung just a little too tightly to her superb curves, ones that would make almost any woman in the village jealous. Hell, people came from halfway across the shinobi world just to get their asses handed to them for her.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. Or should I say, Dark Fox?"

It was either beginning of his worst nightmare or the best wet dream he'd had in years.

"Hinata-san."


	2. Genma's

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

It took him shaking her to finally accept that what had happened was real and not just a figment of his imagination. Hinata had just shaken it off, laughing at him for being such a goof.

"Really though, isn't going out for drinks a little informal?" Hinata complained for the nth time.

Naruto growled in frustration. "For the last time no… Kami, Hinata-san, loosen up a bit. If you're going to be my partner you'll have to stop being such a tight ass."

"Naru-kun, I never knew you thought about me that way." She teased. "Maybe we should be going to your house and not the bar. Ne?"

'How the hell is she able to take whatever I say to her and shove it back down my throat like that?' He thought contemptuously.

"Okay. We've established you're quite adept with the whole banter bit. Now let's just go to Genma's and get ourselves a couple of drinks alright?"

"Alright..." Hinata said with obvious skepticism.

"Trust me, this is how my senior partner first initiated me into his trust. Getting wasted and talking the shit, what's not to like?"

Hinata gave him a dirty look. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not you, and you're not Kakashi, you idiot. And what's with calling him your 'senior partner' anyway? He only took you on because he knew he'd never hear the end of it if he turned down your request after accepting Sasuke's the previous year."

"How did you know that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Hinata smirked. "... you just told me."

"Brilliant." Naruto threw his hands up and rolled his eyes, silently cursing Shikamaru for his poor sense of humor.

"Besides," she continued, "whenever you're sore about something it usually has to do with Sasuke anyway."

Hinata continued to ramble on about the childish tendencies of the team seven duo until Naruto finally found a reason to speak.

"Thank Kami, we're here!"

Genma's was an old establishment with a new owner. It had once been the old Ichiraku noodle stand that Naruto frequented in his youth. After the attack on Konoha business had gone south and old man Teuchi and Ayame were forced to sell the business. Genma, the senbon obsessed jonin with his self-proclaimed 'oral fixation', had taken the initiative on the deal and turned it into a bar. It was shinobi exclusive, and had become so wildly popular that it swiftly went from a stand to a twelve hundred square foot establishment.

After the mass destruction of several years prior constructing new buildings had been a priority for the village, and any new business that promised well for the economy was given the best deals for contractors. It was one of the few things Danzo had done that Naruto could begrudgingly admit was wise. Of course, knowing Danzo, it may very well have been Shikamaru all along and the ANBUROOT leader had just taken the credit. He still hadn't worked up the nerve to ask Shikamaru what the truth was. Go figure.

The familiar smells assaulted his nose with a welcoming sting. It wasn't the cleanest place, but the inside was warm and cozy, with dark corners perfect for those private conversations a couple preferred, or in his case, a new ANBU partnership could share. Ordinarily he preferred the bar, but then again, tonight was anything but ordinary.

"Yo, Naruto, you toady bastard. Just take a seat in the back and shut up before I lose anymore customers to those atrocious table manners of yours." Genma waved and smiled a big friendly grin at him. It was his way of saying hello. After he had retired as a shinobi he had really developed an excellent sense of humor in the blonde jonin's opinion… who else would insult his love for ramen so rashly? Nearly anyone else fool enough to do so who wasn't his immediate friend was in for a quick trip to Konoha General.

"Wow… you know I've always wanted to see this place from the inside, but now I'm not so sure." Hinata admitted truthfully.

Naruto chuckled. "Whatever. Let's just do as the crotchety has-been of a proprietor says and take a seat in the back."

"Looking to get me alone so soon, Naru-kun?" She flipped his words effortlessly, much to her own amusement.

Naruto just ignored the comment. He had already learned his lesson when he had tried to riposte her teasing jabs earlier. "Yeah. That has to be it. C'mon lets go."

The booth they took was indeed towards the very back. The dim lighting of the bar made for a quiet getaway, much to Naruto's approval. The gentle light provided by the single candle in the middle of the booth's table made everything roomy and casual. Just the way he liked it. The only thing he could think of that was ruining the moment was how the light danced in his partners eyes.

'This is gonna suck if I don't play my cards right from the beginning...' Naruto silently vowed to keep it professional. 'That's right, it's all business.'

"Yo Genma. Can we have some service for Kami's sake? I need a bottle of the good stuff, none of that paint thinner you serve to those skinny-lipped virgins with water for blood."

A bottle was tossed clear across the room. No reason not to, any shinobi worth their salt had the reflexes to catch their own sake. Naruto caught it in his grasp and placed it on the table.

"Anything else, you inconsiderate shit?" The ex jonin yelled from behind the bar counter.

"Yeah, two glasses. New partner tonight." Two shot glasses were promptly delivered onto his fingertips. He spun them before putting them back down on the table. "So…"

"So?"

Naruto gestured to her with both hands palms up. "So this is the part where you talk about how excited you are to join ANBU and I shoot you down, obviously."

"Oh really?" Hinata shot right back whilst shifting herself in away that did not help keep his gaze in any means polite. "I thought this is the part where you brag about all of your numerous exploits in a vain attempt to impress me- so I'm less likely to spot all of your flaws."

"What flaws?" Naruto did his best impression of innocence.

Hinata tapped her forehead. "Have you forgotten about these eyes of mine? I can see everything you know."

"Yeah, I do," he rested his head on his fist, "and sometimes I think you see too much."

The innuendo was not missed on the Hyuuga heiress. "And what if I do?"

"Then I hope you like what you see." He mused, seemingly uninterested if she did or not.

"How in the name of Kami did Kakashi ever put up with you for an entire year?"

"Well," Naruto held back a laugh, "probably because he was too smashed to care half the time."

Hinata's brows furrowed in disbelief. "Kakashi? A drunk? I don't believe you. There's no way the someone with his rank in the BINGO book could possibly-"

"Ah, Naruto! Mind if I join you for a couple of drinks?" A masked face peered into the booth. "Finally putting the moves on the girls eh?"

Naruto smiled, victorious. "You see? I told you he enjoyed his rice liquor, but no you didn't believe me." Naruto turned to his ex-sensei. "Kaka-sensei, I'd like to take you up on your offer, but Hinata-san here is my new partner. You know the deal."

The copy-nin nodded sagely. "Getting wasted and talking the shit eh? Alright, perhaps another time then…" A small orange book was plucked from his pocket as he went to sit at the bar.

Hinata's mouth hung open slightly. After a moment she realized her disbelief was showing, and she smartly snapped it shut again. "Okay, so maybe he enjoys a drink or two…" A loud clunk at the bar drew her attention to the liter of hard boos Kakashi had begun to pour into. "…"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "Bwahahahaha! See? YOU SEE!" He put his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

"Fine," Hinata said in annoyance, "the score is Hinata twelve, Naruto one. You happy?"

"One is better than nothing."

"Wisely said."

The conversation paused for a minute and Naruto took the opportunity to pour them each a drink. Hinata sat staring at her small shot glass for a long time before finally shaking her head in disapproval and picking it up. Naruto grinned.

"Here's to the end of my solitude." He pronounced sadly. He took the shot. "Cheers."

"You're supposed to make the toast, clink glasses, say cheers and then drink…" Hinata pointed out.

"Like I really care?"

"I guess not. Here's to hoping you don't get me killed, and a healthy decrease in irritating males." Hinata brought the drink to her mouth and paused. She sniffed and immediately regretted it. If it were any other person in front of her she would have downright rejected the idea of drinking. But then again he was her new partner, and he was Naruto so… "Cheers."

Her throat burned something awful and her eyes filled with tears. 'Kami… it really does take like paint thinner! How do they drink this stuff?' Hinata gagged and coughed while Naruto clapped her on the back appreciatively. The blonde considered it an honor to treat her to her first real drinking bender. Of course, she didn't know that yet.

"Ugh… how the hell can you stand that stuff? That's even more disgusting than Akamaru's dog food." Hinata shot Naruto a withering glare. "And don't even ask how I know, because you're not finding out anytime soon. What happens on Team 8 stays on Team 8."

Naruto pretended to shake some dice in his hand, laughing. "And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." He added.

"Where did you come up with that?"

"I saw it on TV once."

"Oh." Hinata paused as he filled their glasses again. "So... what is this about? I mean I know you're supposed to give me my codename and all that, but is it really just a get to know you kind of thing?"

Naruto took another shot before replying. "Yeah, basically. I mean, what's the first thing you did with your Jonin sensei back when you first made genin?"

"Well, she took us out to lunch and told us a bunch about herself really. She had already read our profiles, so after that she just told us to meet at the training grounds for survival exercises."

"So you had the bell test too eh?" He scratched his ear with his fingertip. "When Kakashi-sensei first showed up he was an hour late, so I set up a chalk eraser in the door for revenge."

"There's no way he fell for something like that."

"DON'T REMIND ME! SONAVAH IT WUSH YERRR FAULTTERRR!" A voice slurred loudly from the bar, Kakashi.

Hinata just stared blankly at the sauced sharingan wielder. "Okay… I take it back- he really hits it hard doesn't he?"

Naruto chortled. "You've finally seen the light have you?"

Hinata stared at her full glass. With a little hesitation she emptied it. She coughed a bit, and it still burned something fierce, but it wasn't as bad as the last time. "Sure, we'll go with that."

"Yeah anyway-" Naruto began.

"NO… I'M NOT GOING HOME TO THAT DEMON! NOOO! NOOOOOO!" Kakashi screeched as Genma was forced to remove him from the bar.

Said 'demon' was in fact his wife of two years, Anko. There was no telling how the unholy matrimony had happened, but what was, was. Naruto himself didn't blame his old sensei for marrying her or for regretting it. It was common knowledge that Anko was probably one of the most perverted kunoichi in Konoha, if not the foremost. Kakashi, being an avid reader of soft- core, was probably more than willing to submit to her advances. What he didn't see coming was the bomb she dropped on him after four months of a steady 'relationship' (if it could even be called that.) The sadist snake mistress had said she was pregnant, and Kakashi, no matter how irresponsible he was, would not risk the wrath of Sakura (who was already head medical nin) beating down on his ass. The real kicker was after they married when Anko 'suddenly realized' that it had been a 'faulty test.' Poor Kakashi, he'd been played and had to deal with the consequences; a horny Anko throwing herself at you every night- one got tired.

"You know," Naruto said thoughtfully, after witnessing the display with a mixture of horror and delight, "if that's how I end up feeling about whoever I marry I'll just go out on an S rank and never come back. There's no way it can be worth it. I mean, look at what happened to Kakashi-sensei."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on that one." Hinata's expression hardened. "I'll never suffer a bad marriage."

"Believe me, I know." Naruto drawled.

"Oh shush. Its not like you don't enjoy having the excuse to level someone whenever you need to vent off some steam."

"Its not like I've ever used that excuse. I just do it anyway."

"You're a barbarian."

"And you're this barbarian's partner, and don't you forget it."

More of the intoxicating liquid was poured into each of there glasses. Naruto wasn't sure, but Hinata looked slightly uninhibited. 'Never a better way to figure out your partner than have them confide all of their secrets when their drunk. Kakashi-sensei, I owe you for teaching me blackmailing 101. Who knows what kind of trouble our little heiress has gotten into...?'

Hinata, as if reading his thoughts, shook her finger at him. "Yeah, well don't think that getting me drunk will raise my opinion of you."

"I never said anything about getting you drunk." Naruto put his hands up innocently.

"Really?"

"…"

"Ok… so back to that.. ANBU stuff. What's my codename going to be? If it's something stupid you're going to regret it." Hinata warned.

"I don't know… what's the printing on your mask? That's always a good place to start." He offered.

"It's a bunch of red and black colored flowers. The mask is shaped after a tigress." She provided.

"Hmmm…" Naruto pondered. "Black Rose?"

"No."

"Tiger Lily."

"Don't even try it."

"Dancing Petal."

"Not bad," Hinata mused, "but not quite right."

"What about Midnight Flower?"

"Getting better… flowers." She said thoughtfully. "You know, I've always liked orchids."

"Black Orchid?"

"No."

"White Orchid?"

"Orchards are normally white, baka."

"Dark Orchid."

"Isn't your codename Dark Fox?" She pointed out.

"Oh, right. Okay then, how about Night Orchid?"

Hinata squinted her eyes for a moment and itched at her nose. "Hmmmm… yeah okay."

"Okay cool. This operatives codename is Night Orchid." He pronounced loudly.

"Didn't you just say that?"

"Its an ANBU thing." He assured her. "Here's to it then."

Both picked up their glasses and clinked them, making a grand total of three shots each. 'Okay… one or two more and it's all over.' The second his glass hit the table he had poured himself another. Hinata slammed hers back on the table and he did her the same favor. She eyed him warily.

"Say…" She muttered. "How many of these can I drink before I get fucked up?"

"Well… you're already cursing, which you don't normally do. I'd say you'd still be safe with one or two more." He suggested.

Her eyes lit up and she grinned like the kid who had just found the cookie jar. "Sweet!" In a blink the fourth shot was gone. Before he could stop her Hinata downed his glass, and poured herself another. She grinned at him stupidly and took that one too.

'Didn't see that one coming,' Naruto thought, greatly entertained. "Woah, woah. Slow down there, slugger. You're a lightweight. No more for you." He smartly maneuvered the mostly emptied hard sake pitcher to his side of the table and refilled his glass. He looked her hard in the eye before taking it, making sure she didn't try for another."

When the waiter passed by (Genma's also served food- ramen included, thought it wasn't top notch or anything) Naruto waved him down and asked for some mints and the bill.

"Okay, Hina-san." Naruto said, acting a bit friendlier from his own mild intoxication. "Tell me something about yourself."

"Like whaat." She slurred slightly, the liquor rapidly catching up with her.

"Oh I don't know." He shrugged. "Your likes and dislikes, dreams, hobbies… all that stuff. I need to know who I'm working with, not what skills you have. That I already know." For some reason his words sounded vaguely familiar. With a grin he realized he had almost copied what Kakashi had said to him on day one as a genin verbatim. Funny how you did stuff like that when you drank.

"Well… I like being appreciated for whosh I am. I don't liksh people who undereshtimate me and treaph me like ah piesh off properdy." Hinata looked very serious, but her face was flushed red and her eyes were bleary. "My hobbish are flowersh an k-kicking the shhhit out off thosh shtupid shuitors… my dream ish."

'Woah, she's totally toasted.' Naruto realized. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Old man Hiashi will be pissed if he finds out his daughter went and got drunk with the Kyuubi brat.' His eyes darted around the bar. 'There's not much of anyone here though- it's probably, fine. I'll just take her home when the waiter gets back.'

Hinata stopped and giggled, her face going even redder. "You know, ish funny. When I wash a genin I had thish shilly crush on you… funny… yesh.. funny how thingsh chanesh."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at that one. True, he had been totally oblivious to most things when he was younger, but Hinata must have kept that a secret from everyone. Surely someone would have told him all those years. After all, they had been genin together for over four years… well that was including the trip he took with Jiraiya. He wondered if it really was for the entire time. Four years for a kid was a really long time. He wondered at her comment on things changing. Idly he toyed with the thought of her still liking him. He quickly dismissed it. This was business.

"Shtill I neversh thought you would grow up sho mush… heheh… heheheheh…" Naruto watched her decompose into a blithering mess.

"Yup, no tolerance." He said aloud.

The waiter came back with the bill and the mints and Naruto handed him the charge plus a few extra ryo to keep his mouth shut. He wisely decided against giving Hinata a mint- he had almost choked to death when Kakashi had given him one after his first bender. If it wasn't for Genma he probably would have died. The copy-nin had been too busy laughing his ass off to help.

Carefully he offered his hand to Hinata, doing his best to not treat her like she was drunk. There was nothing a drunk hated more than being told he or she was drunk.

Sure enough, she asked. "Shhhay Naru… do you thinksh I'm drunk?" She slumped against him, dependent for balance. She was surprisingly light.

"Naw," he patted her on the head, "not at all."

"Sho thish.. ish okay?" She indicated their current physicality. "I thought ish wash againsht the rulesh."

He wasn't looking to set her off on a drunk tirade if she was the type. That in mind, he indulged her line of thought.

"Who's to say we can't be friends and partners? The best combinations are usually rather close. They say a good partner can read another's mind."

"Really?" She mumbled, sounding rather bemused.

They were out the door in a few more seconds. He began to escort her down the street towards the Hyuuga complex. The moon was out.

After a few minutes Hinata spoke again. "Kinda likesh loversh?" She asked randomly… or maybe not so randomly.

Naruto suddenly had the feeling he was skating on thin ice. "Yeah… maybe… mphh!"

She kissed him. She actually kissed him. Its not like he didn't like it. Her lips were soft and sweet, her embrace warm, but it wasn't right. If anyone saw them he'd pay hell. Not to mention the ramifications if she remembered. Somewhat reluctantly he pushed her back. Judging by the look in her eyes she wouldn't. He almost sighed in relief.

She stepped forward as if to say something but stopped. Without warning she lost her balance and fell flat onto her back, passing out almost immediately.

Naruto wiped his lips of her taste and did the best he could to wipe his mind of the memory.

"Yeah, definitely a light-weight." He muttered.


	3. Rude Awakening

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Much to his dismay Naruto did not awake that morning with a hangover. Hinata had spoiled his chance.

He had wanted to get her drunk for a little healthy blackmail material. He hadn't expected her to chug those last three shots. She had been dead weight all the way back to the Hyuuga complex after she passed out. Fortunately for him the branch members at the entrance asked no questions. If anything they were helpful, taking Hinata without a word of complaint. Somehow Naruto sensed they didn't hold any warm feelings for Hiashi either. They reminded him of an enlightened Neji.

Naruto threw the covers off of his bed and hobbled into the shower of his semi-modest flat. Though he had inherited the estate of his father he didn't live there. The place was just too big for one person. It made him feel lonely. Besides, he was too used to living in humble conditions anyway. As a kid he had only the bare minimum, so anything above that was just fine with him. As it was, his flat was on the fifth story of one of the new complexes that had gone up 'post destruction,' as he liked to call it. Sixteen hundred square feet with a good view and furnishings- what more could he want?

The living room had a large brown leather sofa with a low table for drinks and snacks. He didn't watch T.V. very often on his HD, but whenever one of his buddies came over it never hurt to impress them. What else was he going to do with all his money? A chair matching the sofa sat adjacent to a small stand with a reading lamp. On the other side of the sofa a large beanbag served as the perfect makeshift crash zone whenever he was too tired or too smashed to make it to his bedroom in the back, let alone the single guest room.

The kitchen was wood floored, a pain for most, but Naruto had become surprisingly clean in recent years. Kakashi had taught him early on the value of keeping one's weapons clean and maintained. Sometimes it was the difference between life and death. The blonde black ops. jonin didn't hold his flat to the same standards, but it was never messy. Kakashi on the other hand had lived in a biohazard until Anko had forced him into buying a house. He had a fair sum from missions and the inheritance from his father so it was no great strain. On the other hand it had spelled the end of his bachelor lifestyle.

The kitchen had an island in the middle, something Naruto didn't care for, but whenever Sakura came over with Sasuke she would delight in cooking for them because of it. He guessed it was a girl thing. Naruto didn't only eat ramen anymore, but it was still a staple of his diet. Quick and cheap as well as lightweight and space friendly, it was actually an ideal shinobi ration… well as far as raw calories went. Nutritionally it was a disaster. Before she had died, Tsunade had always teased Naruto that it was a miracle he had grown at all. Even Kakashi had shoved vegetables in his face once or twice.

The warm water felt good on his skin, washing away the toils of the previous day's events. He let it pass over his face and his lips, catching a little in his mouth to gargle. He had forgotten to brush his teeth before he went to bed and was happy to get the taste out of his mouth as soon as possible. The thought crossed his mind that he was washing away Hinata's kiss, but he paid it no heed.

If there was one thing Naruto had learned from his Ero-sennin, Jiraiya, it was how to avoid troubles with women. Naruto had it easy in his opinion. It was common knowledge among the older generation that he contained the Kyuubi, and although his reputation had improved, no one was exactly encouraging their girls to dote on him. It didn't bother him in the least. He had never been a very passionate person anyway. Well maybe emotionally he had, but not in the way he knew some men to be about the fairer sex.

Its not that he didn't have a drive- he did, and a prominent one at that. Its just that he knew how to keep his mind distracted on other things- like learning a new jutsu or pounding the crap out of anyone who rubbed him wrong on an off day. At least the Kyuubi insured that no one doubted his abilities as a shinobi- few ever raised a word of complaint about his slightly violent tendencies.

Yawning, he shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He went to his refrigerator and looked inside. With a frown Naruto realized he hadn't stocked up recently because the amount of missions he'd had were keeping him out of the house so much. Feeling a little irked at the lack of food, he slammed the door shut and grabbed an apple from a clay bowl placed on the island of his kitchen, next to the double marble sink.

He had just finished with his personal hygiene and gotten into his ANBU gear when the doorbell rang. Naruto tried to ignore it, but it rang a second time and then a third.

"Ughh… what the hell? Its 4:30 in the fricken' morning!" He shouted at no one in particular. Begrudgingly he conceited and went to open the door.

Sasuke stood just outside in the hallway looking alert as ever. "I swear Dobe, sometimes you're as bad as Shika."

He had grown since he had returned to Konoha. He was maybe an inch taller than Naruto now, but probably ten pounds lighter- real slight and refined. He wore his ANBU gear with his mask turned to the side on the top of his head. A subtle lightning design in black trailed across the white surface of the falcon shaped mask- Sasuke still had a flare for the dramatic.

He wore the standard ANBU attire minus the wakazashi that most carried- he substituted it for a full-length masterwork katana at his hip. The arrogant smirk he wore was unchanged from his days as a youth, but there was a warmth in his eyes that had only appeared after Sakura had finally barged her way into his life. His humor was still as bad as ever though.

"What the hell, Teme?" Naruto bickered in anger. "You had better be here for a mission or I'm going to rasengan your ass back to the Valley of the End."

Sasuke did his best to look innocent, pressing his hand to his chest. "Why Naruto, what did I ever do to you…" He paused and widened his eyes, as if remembering something critical. "Oh.. that's right. I shoved a chidori through your lung- my bad."

"I'll have you know that I let you do it, Teme. I scratched your hitai-ate to tell you that I could have won. Sure, your chidori severely wounded me, but my rasengan would have killed you dead." Naruto retorted defensively with his arms crossed and his face set in a pout.

"Whatever, you always were the softie of the two of us."

"At least I didn't become the ass slave of some snakey bastard just so I could beat my brother in a contest of pink-eye."

"And I," Sasuke countered, settling into the age old argument that came up almost daily, "didn't run away tail between my legs for two years with some perverted old has-been."

"Jiraiya-sensei was a great man."

"And an even greater pervert." The Uchiha amended.

Naruto tried to scratch the back of his head, but his fox mask got in the way. He was never very happy with Kakashi's choice in mask or codename for him. He didn't like to be reminded of the demon he contained and had once shared consciousness with- even if it did mean a badass black and red flame design for his ANBU mask.

"Yeah, whatever Teme." His tone cooled considerably. "So what's shadow jerk-off got planned for me today?"

Sasuke handed him an unopened scroll with the wax seal of the sixth Hokage on it. "This."

"Damn, an S rank right off the bat huh?" The blonde jonin let out a low whistle.

"Well since Shikamaru sent you a private messenger with a sealed document- a measure of the highest security, I would say so."

"You always were a know it all."

"No, that's my wife."

"Touché."

Without thinking about it he shut the door behind him, slamming it in Sasuke's face. In moments he had ripped open the seal and was reading Shikamaru's note.

_Dark Fox,_

_You have been selected for an S rank priority mission. You are to report to my office at once._

_Signed,_

_The Sixth Hokage._

He had figured as much. As was standard procedure he channeled a small amount of chakra into his fingertips and burned it, insuring that no one else would read its contents.

"Burn after reading, eh? Don't you always hate it when I'm right?" He heard Sasuke say from behind the door.

When he was sure the Teme had left, Naruto smiled humorlessly.

"No, Sasuke. Occasionally I'm pleased."

* * *

The walk to the Hokage tower was uneventful- save for the old lady in the downtown civilian sector watering the pavement from her third story apartment. Naruto really had a mind to file a complaint against her. He swore that she waited every morning just for him so she could try and douse him. Fortunately this time she had missed. He was in a sour mood for pranks.

"Ah, Uzumaki-san. So glad you could make it."

"Cut the crap Shika, what's this about?"

The Sixth sipped at the coffee on his desk before setting it down and staring blankly at his own reflection for a few moments. It was what he did whenever he was about to say something Naruto didn't like.

"Well," he began, "I decided to start you and Hyuuga-san on an S rank. You'll get to baptize the partnership in fire, so to speak. Besides, you were always horrible with the diplomatic side of things." He slid a plain folder across the table, the contents of which were a few documents detailing his assignment. "It's a straight assassination job. No strings attached. Just get in and get out, and try to keep casualties outside of the target to a minimum. I'm giving this to you for a reason Naruto- you haven't failed me once. In all the years I've known you you've screwed a lot of stuff up, but you've never failed."

He lit up a cigarette and blew a few healthy puffs in Naruto's direction, making him fight his reflex to cough. Shikamaru spun lazily in his chair.

"By the way. What codename have you selected for her? I need to add it to the roster." He inquired.

"Night Orchid."

"Really? Interesting."

"You were saying?" Naruto prompted.

"Right. We're being paid double the normal sum for this mission. When you read those documents you'll find out why. I've already sent a messenger to the Hyuuga complex. Hinata will be meeting you outside the main gate at 0800 hours. Prepare for a week long mission."

"Hai." Naruto tilted his head in the single most respectful gesture he would ever grant everyone before turning to leave and get ready.

"Try to be easy on her, Naruto! Remember your first S rank." Shikamaru yelled as the doors closed behind him.

Easy on her? Like hell he would be. She was just going to make things more complicated. No, either she would figure out how to be useful or she would sit on the sidelines and watch him work. He wasn't letting anyone slow him down. Naruto was insufferable inter-personally, but when it came down to it, he was nothing but loyal to Konohagakure. Nothing, but nothing, would stand in his way.

* * *

The three hours he was granted was more than enough. He already had several packs that sat in his closet at home ready-made for three day, one week, two week, three week and month long missions. Going over the details of the mission took him only twenty minutes. Shikamaru hadn't been lying when he said it was simple. He also hadn't been lying when he had commented about the pay.

It was simple really. Remnants of Gatou Shipping had still survived in the years after his death. In the wake of Konoha's first and then second economical blow, they were able to gain a measure of influence again in Wave. Now it looked as if whoever was in charge was trying to cut a deal with Kirigakure. If Mist began to move in on Wave then hostilities might rise between them, which meant Fire could get involved. Fire was already under considerable strain because of their numbers- they had lost over half of their shinobi in the combined attacks of Orochimaru and Akatsuki.

So they were going to cut out the middleman. A meeting was being held sometime in the next three or four days between the Gatou Shipping representative and an official from Mist. Luckily ANBU intel. had managed to get an informant, so they knew that the meeting was going to happen in the northern harbor of Wave on a ship called the Prodigal Son. Naruto found it ironic that his first mission with his rookie partner was taking him to the same place where he had completed his first C rank mission. Well, A rank, but they never put that on record.

It was a critical mission and Shikamaru had entrusted it to the only Konoha shinobi in recent history to boast a 100% success in the ANBU. Naruto hoped that Hinata didn't become a burden. If there was a choice between her and the mission he honestly didn't know which he would choose. Given the circumstances of the mission he'd probably leave her. Cruel? Maybe, but Naruto had the foresight that many more lives would be lost should such an operation fail. What was the good of the one compared to the good of the many? Get in, get out, and do it quickly. Exactly his style.

The minutes on his house clock ticked by incredibly slow. When the clock finally struck 0740 he breathed a sigh of relief.

In ten minutes he was outside the gates, a small pack on his shoulders. One of the perks of being the Fourth's son was access to some of his personal jutsu. While some could simply not be replicated, others, such as permanent containment scrolls were very useful. Naruto's packs were always light. Everything albeit his battle equipment, a water canteen and a few roadside provisions were stored in the scrolls carried in the backpack. He always got a kick when he saw rookies weighed down by massive amounts of supplies they didn't need. He couldn't wait to bust Hinata on it.

Much to his disappointment she was actually punctual, arriving five minutes before the designated time. Naruto hopped out of the tree he had been hiding in, trying to at least get a scare out of her, but she proved difficult to catch off guard. She already had her vision fixed on him, as if she had already known he was there. He nearly smacked his palm to his head when he remembered her blood limit.

'Damn those eyes of her. Freakin' Konoha shinobi and their fancy shmancy kekke genkai. I swear, the First must have had a fetish for them.' He thought grumpily.

At least he knew the benefits. Despite how much he abhorred Sasuke and his Sharingan he would never once say it wasn't a useful technique. The Byakugan was no different.

"Yo." Hinata waved sleepily to him.

Naruto's heart sank. She wasn't weighed down by a heavy pack. If anything she was practically perfect. She had figured he would bring cooking gear and a tent, so she had ignored bringing her own (most rookies did.) Instead she brought the bare essentials: her own food and water, first aid, smoke bombs and other battle utilities and a single change of ANBU and civilian clothing. It was almost as if she had known exactly how he worked. Naruto frowned at the thought. Maybe Shikamaru was craftier than he gave him credit for.

"Yo." Naruto waved back, friendly, but professional. He would be sure that it would stay that way.

Without another word he shot into the woods. He would have to set a good pace if they were to make it to Wave in time, and that meant cutting cross country. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that Hinata was about five feet behind him- the standard travel formation taught in training. Well he would just have to make her work for it wouldn't he?

Naruto had massive amounts of chakra inherited from both his father and mother plus he had the influence of Kyuubi. He may not have been as fast as his father, but no one would ever claim that he was slow. As far as he knew only Lee and Guy could top him. He cranked up the speed, nothing obviously testing, but enough to make most rookies sweat. His irritation grew further when she didn't even raise the slightest hint of protest. She stayed with him step for step. His jaw clenched in frustration. At some point she'd screw up and he'd be able to file a request to have her removed as her partner.

All he had to do was wait-

He hated waiting.


	4. On the Road

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When they finally stopped to set up camp that night Naruto could tell that Hinata was exhausted. He had pushed her hard, granting only a few five-minute breaks to take water and chew on a ration. He was impressed that she had made it as far as she had.

'Her basic profile wasn't exaggerating.' Naruto thought sourly. 'Normal chakra capacity… her control must be off the charts- possibly even better than Kakashi-sensei's.'

That didn't mean he couldn't give her hell if he wanted to though.

He ordered her to make a pit for a fire and fetch wood first. After she was done he made her go refill their canteen at a stream several miles away while he cooked a simple dinner over the cozy fire he had lit. Hinata came back soaked, having fallen into the river in the darkness. Naruto had been tempted to make a snarky remark about her eyes not being as great as she thought they were, but he abstained. Even he was capable of feeling sympathy sometimes. He knew what it was like to be soaked and frozen to the bone on a mission and it was not fun.

Fortunately it was spring and Fire Country wasn't very cold that time of year. She dried quickly enough and ate her meal in silence. Technically he could withhold information on their mission until the hour before they struck, but Naruto wasn't the kind to not give someone a chance. He had been given a chance once and he was thankful ever since. Who was he to deny her, an heiress, the same privilege?

He sat and stared at her for a while, watching the way she would eat her food, drink from her canteen, rub her hands by the fire. He had always seen her as proper and withdrawn. Last night he had thrown the withdrawn part out the window and now he was bordering on doing the same with proper. Her hair was a wild tangle of blue-black locks, making her look almost feral. He wasn't sure if it was because he was wild himself, or if it was just her, but he found that look strangely alluring.

When she finished he shook his head of the annoying thoughts and got down to business.

"Alright, I suppose I can tell you the details of the mission now." Naruto set down his own food, going since finished in his lap, and brought the file out from his backpack. "Here."

Hinata accepted the documents graciously, putting her own empty bowl to the side of the stump she was perched on. She was a faster reader than him and finished in fifteen minutes.

Her voice awoke him from distraction again. "Interesting. Weren't you on a mission in Wave as a genin? I've never been there before."

Naruto hunched forward on his rock so he could look at her in the eyes. "Yeah. It was a C rank to help escort some old drunk who needed to finish a bridge. Without it the nation would have crumbled."

"Sounds like it was pretty important for a C rank."

"Yeah, well some big shot named Gatou thought so too. He hired chuunin known as the Demon Brothers to take our client out. After that failed he sent Kiri missing nin by the name of Momochi Zabuza. Kakashi-sensei took him down, but some really tough kid disguised as a hunter nin saved him. We ended up fighting them again later and they both died."

"Wow. So you basically completed an A rank mission as a genin, that's pretty impressive."

"Yeah, it was supposed to be our first C rank too." He chuckled. "It was actually me who insisted we go on after we learned of the old man's deception. I was a real idiot back then. We could have easily been killed. If Kakashi-sensei wasn't the genius that he was we probably would have died."

"You must be a magnet for trouble to get screwed that bad on your first C." She jibed.

Naruto shrugged it off and moved to set up his tent. "Yeah, maybe. Either way I always get out of it somehow. I do have a 100% success rate in the ANBU you know."

"Hahahah… hahaha… ha…" Hinata clutched at her sides, bursting into a random fit of laughter.

"What the hell? What the hell's so funny?" Naruto demanded. "Its true damnit! Its not like all S ranks are like this one! Its just that its so important that slapping an S on it will make the shinobi take it more seriously..." He paused. "… ok you're still laughing. Seriously- I'm getting a little creeped out now."

After a few more moments of unbridled hysterics Hinata rose to her feet to help him, wiping a tear from her eye as she went. "Two things. First that anyone ever dared to call you a dropout back at the academy. I mean now everyone knows you're the Fourth's son, but back then you were a nobody." She paused for a moment and looked at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Her superior raised an eyebrow. "Don't mention it. I know what you mean." He said softly.

'Too bad you don't know the other half of the equation.' Naruto toyed with the image of her hating him for containing the Kyuubi. It would probably get her off of his team, but it was a fleeting fancy. The only ones outside of the older generation who knew were Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru and Shino. Sasuke and Sakura he had told… and they had witnessed the power firsthand. Shikamaru had already suspected, but it was confirmed when he was Hokage. Shino had just come up to him day and made a comment on how they both housed something others didn't understand. He still didn't get that one.

"Anyway," she continued, "it was my father who demanded I be trained by the best. I'm pretty sure it's why Shikamaru let me be your partner. The Hyuuga hold a great deal of sway over the council. If he appeased my father then he would have a better chance of restoring the power of the Hokage."

Naruto nodded his agreement. "Yeah, well since the Hyuuga are one of the oldest, largest, wealthiest, and overall most powerful clans, I would think he would. When do you take over anyway?"

Hinata frowned. "When I turn twenty and select a husband to carry on the family line. You know that."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess."

"… Naruto-kun... What's it like to be strong?"

"What?"

The Hyuuga heiress looked at him strangely. "I mean, you've always been so strong. I just wondered what it would be like… y'know- to be you."

"To tell you the truth its not that great." Naruto replied flatly. "Really, I have the same kind of fears everyone else does. I don't want to die because I don't understand how to live. As shinobi we kill our emotions and I've done a damn good job, it's kept me alive when I thought I was done for sure. It's strange really. All of the most successful ANBU seem to be those who have lost themselves to the world. Kakashi-sensei is a blank slate of killing power and skill on the field and look at what he is- a living legend."

"Why do you think he turned down becoming the Rokudaime Hokage?" Hinata questioned, off kilter.

Naruto gave her one of his trademark cheesy grins. Something she hadn't seen in years. "Kakashi is way too much of a lazy ass to be the Hokage, even more than Shikamaru. He'd show up late, get plastered, and probably just use that fancy scrying orb to peep on the entirety of the village's female population."

Hinata giggled. "Yeah, probably. Is he really right up there with Jiraiya?"

"Yes and no. Kakashi probably has a dirtier mind and he's never seen in public without one of his smut novels, but Jiraiya was nearly an artisan pervert."

"Artisan pervert?"

Naruto coughed and winked at her. "Yeah, he was pervy to such an extreme you couldn't call it anything other than an art."

"You're sure you were spared his tendencies?" She leered at him suspiciously.

"Heh, not to let you down, but if you haven't noticed I'm not really into that stuff. I'm a shinobi. Emotions and love, they just get in the way."

"Yeah…" Hinata agreed half-heartedly. "I know. Believe it or not, I know…"

They finished making the tent in silence. It was only after he saw her taking her bedroll off of her pack he found himself wishing she had made a rookie mistake. 'That's right… sleeping together- shit.'

Once they had both settled in, he broached the topic of the previous night as subtly as he could. "So… sorry I let you get so smashed last night. You just went after them one after another all of a sudden."

If she knew what he was talking about, she didn't show it. "Yeah, but it was my fault really."

"No, it was your first time, it was my responsibility to make sure you didn't drink too much."

"I'm flattered." Hinata gave him a flat stare. "Look, I know you think it's your fault, but really it isn't. Anyway… sorry about that other thing as well. I wasn't thinking."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his sleeping bag. 'Could it be she actually remembered?'

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about Hinata-san." He said, avoidant.

A faint blush came to her cheeks. "I mean about k-kissing you."

'So she did remember. Awww crap.' He rubbed his temples gingerly with his fingers. After a beat he raised his head so it rested in his palms and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Don't worry about it." He dismissed gruffly. "Stuff like that happens all the time when you get too screwed up. I don't hold it against you, or think any less of you because of it."

A small smile formed on her lips. "What? No nervous rebuttal that you didn't mean to take advantage of me? I'm shocked."

In the darkness Naruto furrowed his brows. 'Okay… so she stuttered- something she hasn't done in years, meaning she was either very nervous or very embarrassed about something. Probably embarrassed. She's also trying to play it off lightly with banter. Good, its probably nothing.' His self-assurance helped calm his fears considerably.

"Yeah, well its not like I had a choice in the matter." He muttered with some irritation.

"Is that so?" Hinata had just sprung a trap and Naruto knew it.

"Uh yeah?" He replied dumbly.

"So now you're saying you didn't like it, then? Am I so unattractive? Or is it that you always separate work and pleasure?" She rolled over so she was nearly side by side with him and propped herself up on one elbow. "Don't get me wrong Naruto-kun. I just want your honest opinion is all. I mean, I have to choose a fiancé soon, right?" She reasoned.

He met her challenge straight on. "Look, I'm not gay or anything okay? I don't care what that Sasuke-teme told you, but it's not true."

She shot him a disapproving glare.

"Yes, I enjoy getting kissed by beautiful women. No, its not like I didn't enjoy it… but you're my friend and partner Hinata. That's all." He appraised her for a moment. "If you're asking me to help you look pretty for your future husband then the answer is no." He teased.

It had the desired effect. She didn't know whether to take him seriously or not, and she didn't know whether it mattered to him or not. Safety in ambiguity.

"Ermm… I never said you were gay and I've never heard that rumor…" She trailed off. "You're right accidents happen. Goodnight Naruto-kun."

He was a little baffled by her 180 at the end there, but he decided he didn't care. "Goodnight Hinata-san."

It wasn't until she was half asleep that she realized Naruto had called her beautiful.

* * *

"You know, the last time I was here we had to take a ferry to get across. I guess that bridge really is useful." Naruto made his first step onto the great structure.

It had taken only half the day to reach the bridge. Naruto had broken camp at six a.m. and pushed hard again to do it. Again, Hinata had didn't raise a complaint the entire way. She was actually turning out to be a half decent ANBU… for a rookie anyway. The black ops. jonin questioned exactly how far she had come since she was the shy and incompetent heiress he once knew. He hadn't exactly seen any of her fights with her suitors. He had heard she was the pride of the Hyuuga, but he knew how rumors worked. He doubted she had truly surpassed Neji. He was a genius after all.

They were dressed in their civilian clothing. Hinata was maintaining a minor genjutsu to change her eyes to discreet looking green ones with normal pupils. Naruto found it irritating. He liked her eyes… in a totally platonic observatory sort of way. The green ones just looked wrong on her, though it didn't stop the numerous men they passed on the road from leering at her. A threatening glance from Naruto was all it took for them to stop. Killing intent was a beautiful thing.

"It's pretty impressive," Hinata acknowledged, "to build a bridge this long must have been a monumental achievement in engineering. That old drunk must have been better than you thought Naruto-kun."

"Yeah I guess." He gave her a bemused glance and fell into step a little closer to her. "You know you really don't need to use the honorific right now. I mean we are undercover."

"Sorry, hard to break the habit. Besides," she added, "no honorific… isn't it a bit.. I don't know- intimate to be using in public?"

"You think I refer to Sasuke-teme honorifically in public?" He allowed himself a small laugh. "You don't even want to know what I call him in private."

"Its different. I'm a woman if you didn't notice."

"And that changes this how?"

Hinata stepped one closer to him, linking left her arm in his right and laying her hand on his wrist daintily.

"Fine then, have it your way." She chirped sweetly.

Naruto sighed. She really was too flippant for her own good. "So now you're using me as practice huh? How much lower can I sink?"

Hinata clutched him somewhat painfully and gave him a subtle smile. "I wouldn't call what you're referring to as low, but I am interested in what happens when you do go lower."

"You could put Shikamaru on the ropes with that tongue of yours." Naruto pointed out bluntly.

She smirked and turned her eyes into little upside-down U's. It vaguely reminded him of Kakashi.

"Who says I haven't?"

"Point taken."

The rest of the walk across the bridge was made in silence. Hinata gazed out at the ocean while Naruto stayed on a low level of alert, watching for any suspicious activity. After an hour the end was in sight and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Civilian clothing always made him feel self-conscious, especially traditional robes. Hinata may have been at home in them, but he was going to be happy to get off of the main drag and switch into ANBU gear. Normally they would have been able to stay in the city, but the mission intel. mentioned something about Naruto having a high profile in Wave, and that it would be bad if he was recognized. Naruto couldn't recall why he might be a high profile character in Wave, but he agreed that drawing attention was a bad idea.

They were almost off the bridge when Naruto saw trouble.

A couple of kids were picking a fight with a younger one. There was something vaguely familiar about the black haired victim, but he couldn't place it. When the three drew knives Naruto was tempted to act, but under cover he couldn't really do anything. He felt Hinata's grip on him tighten and he squeezed her hand in sympathy.

"You guys wouldn't mess with me if my nii-chan was here!" The younger boy, maybe fourteen, shouted defiantly.

The biggest kid of the three assailants, a punk with dyed red hair, took a step forward and pushed the boy to the ground. "Yeah, well whoever he is, he aint here."

"Yeah," another one jeered, giving the boy a good kick, "I don't care who your brother is, but your daddy needs to be taught a lesson, wimp."

"He's made our lives hell. Our fathers were killed over this stupid bridge. If it weren't for your precious prick of a father, this stupid chunk of concrete wouldn't even be here!"

Suddenly Naruto realized why the kid looked familiar. Another kick hit the boy, this time in the jaw. Naruto's eyes narrowed in cunning.

"Hey Hinata." He whispered as they drew closer. "I think I have a way to get us a place to stay and some inside help, if you follow my lead."

She looked at him, a little confused. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just knock those three boys out when we get close. Do it quietly and quickly. I know that kid- I think he can help us."

"Okay."

Another thirty seconds and they had closed the distance. The three older boys had delivered a few more blows to the smaller boy, but nothing too serious. When they got too close the biggest boy turned.

"What do you want?" He asked gruffly, his voice low and rough.

Hinata took the opportunity and ran with it. "I want you." She sighed breathily, watching as the boy's eyes widened in delight. 'Kids are just too stupid these days… as if.'

She wrapped her arms around him, shoving off of Naruto, who looked pissed. She spun the boy so she was between all three. Her eyes glittered dangerously. "Punks."

They didn't even have time to let out a yelp. Hinata hit the big one with two fingers and the one on her right with an identical move. The third one was taken down by a sound hit to the head from Naruto. All three crumpled to the ground noiselessly. Hinata gave Naruto a happy grin. Somehow he found it disconcerting.

"You," the boy on the ground wheezed painfully, "why did you help me?"

Naruto had to stifle a laugh. The boy was denser than he was as a kid. "Now Inari-chan, what kind of nii-chan would I be if I didn't back up your word every once in a while."

Inari's eyes widened. "No way… Naruto-niichan?"

"The very same."

For several minutes the two were reenacting her worst nightmares of Gai and Lee proclaiming their bonds. Finally she shook her head, completely lost.

"Okay, niichan? There is no way the two of you are related." She made an act of moving her gaze back and forth, as if she was watching a professional tennis match.

"No," Naruto replied, offering Inari a hand up, "but I saved his old fart of a grandpa's ass once. Those kids are deranged if they think he's you're pops, by the way."

Inari, though bloodied, shrugged it off. "Yeah, for some reason it just didn't seem relevant at the time… Niichan, why are you here?"

Naruto cast a suspicious look around, making a big show of trying to be secretive. Hinata had to stifle a giggle out how ridiculous he looked. Real ninjas were never so obvious.

"Actually, I'm on a mission. Look, Inari-chan, it would mean a lot to me if you could take me to see your gramps. I think he could help me out."

"Well he didn't name the bridge after you for nothing." The youth replied glibly.

"What?" Naruto shot him a blank look.

"You mean you don't know, niichan?" Inari pointed to a large stone archway overhead. "See? 'The Great Naruto Bridge.'"

"So that's what they meant by high profile…" He looked at Hinata meaningfully. "Looks like I'm great now too. Hiashi would be proud."

"Hiashi doesn't know." Hinata corrected.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah."

"You never said anything about it last night."

"So?"

It suddenly changed everything. She was hiding something from him. Only enemies hid things from him. He should hate her. "Do you know why?"

"No. Shikamaru suggested I keep it a secret." She replied hotly. "Is there a problem?"

Naruto's tone relaxed considerably. "No. No, if it was an order that's different. We'll talk about it later."

"'Kay."

"Excuse me!" Inari interrupted. "But I think we should go now, people are staring."

Naruto and Hinata locked gazes for a second, then turned to confirm Inari's claim. A small crowd of people had gathered and several men in uniform were approaching them.

"Yeah… lets go." Naruto consented. Hinata wordlessly agreed.

* * *

Half an hour later they arrived at a sizeable mansion. Apparently Tazuna had made it good after building the bridge. On the way, Inari explained that he had become the governor of Wave. He would have called him a daimyo, but considering the size of Wave, Naruto thought Inari had used the right word. The two guards posted at the front gate nodded to Inari casually and let him through without any questions. After walking up the path to the estate and passing through a small garden they came to the large double doors at the house's front. Inari took out a key and let himself in, Hinata and Naruto in tow. Before they went any further he begged them not to tell Tazuna that he had been in a fight. It wasn't the fight itself, but that he had lost… and Naruto suspected Tsunami would be pissed.

One quick agreement and a simple medical jutsu (compliments of Hinata) later and they were led up the stairs and to the doors of Tazuna's private office.

"Hey gramps, we have some guests here to see you." Inari rudely pounded at the door of the office. When there was no response he threw the doors open.

"GRAMPS!"

Tazuna sat in a comfy chair, head on his desk, drooling, with a pitcher of sake and an empty cup still in hand. Hinata gave him a special smile, nodding her head that she too was reminded of Tsunade at that moment. Inari reminded Naruto of himself, because he crossed the floor with no consideration to a drunken old leader and slammed his fists down on the table.

"Huh, wuh? Whazzat?" Tazuna literally jumped out of his chair and landed on his ass, looking completely off his rocker. "Inari… whadju doin' here? Hic!"

"Gramps… we have guests and you're toasted." Inari whined.

"I am not toashted… that much." The old man picked himself up and sat back down in his chair. "Now who hash come to vishit us?"

Naruto decided to get it over with. "Yo, Tazuna-san. What's shaken? I see you finally acknowledged me with that bridge of yours." He extended his hand to shake the confused old man's. "And here I thought that you would try and name it something more fitting… like.. I don't know? 'The Super Awesome Bridge That Tazuna Made,' or something."

"Actually I did want a name kinda like that… it was Inari who decided to name it after that brat…" Tazuna sobered up instantly at hearing someone compliment him on his bridge. He shook back and reached for the glasses on the top of his head. Suddenly the world came into focus again. Tazuna let out a snort of contempt. "You look just like him."

"Actually, Tazuna-san," Hinata moved to stand next to Naruto, politely cutting into the conversation, "he is Naruto."

It took him a few moments, but Tazuna eventually found the energy to sit back in his chair and take a better look. "Well blow the bridge and call me a farmer… never thought I'd see you again brat. What were they feeding you over there, steroids? You must have grown two feet, I barely recognize you."

"That's probably because you're as blind as a bat without your glasses you old fart!" Inari rained on his parade with more than a little enthusiasm, something akin to Konohamaru.

"Shut it you disrespectful runt." Tazuna waved his fist angrily in the air. "Back in my day… Ah shit. I'm saying 'back in my day.' Now I'm really going senile."

"Yeah probably." Naruto agreed.

"I thought you were on my side?" Tazuna asked dryly.

"Only if you let me and my friend stay here for a couple of nights; no questions asked."

Tazuna looked from Naruto and then to Hinata. If a light bulb could have appeared above his head it would have. "Oh I get it… trying to elope now are we? Quite the catch you got there, brat." Tazuna let out a couple of suggestive whistles and winked at them. "Just keep it down will ya, an old man has to sleep."

Hinata's face turned beat red. "But we're not-"

"Heheheh, no need to be shy now." Tazuna leered, drinking in the site of the flustered Hinata. "On second thought make all the noise you want!"

"BUT-"

"Don't worry, gramps. She can be quiet if she needs to. Come on Hina, let's go find a guest room." Naruto grabbed her hand and sauntered out smugly.

Tazuna gave them the thumbs up and a toothy grin, gazing at Hinata's ass as she left. "Who ever knew he'd land a babe like that."

Inari shot him a dirty look. "Don't you think you should have at least asked how he's been?"

Tazuna sat up straight; looking wise in a way only the Sandaime could have matched.

"Son, when you land a babe like that, people don't have to ask you how you've been- they already know."


	5. Enter Hinata

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

+Hyuuga Hinata +

+Age: 18+

+Sex: Female +

+Height: 5' 8''+

+Weight: 140 lbs. +

+Rank: ANBU Black ops. +

+Allegiance: Konoha +

+Notes: Emphasis on clan associated taijutsu and doujutsu kekke genkai. Average chakra reserves, exceptional chakra control. +

* * *

"I can't believe you let that old shit think that we-"

"Now, now Hinata-san. It got him to shut up didn't it? Let him think what he wants in that lecherous old mind of his. Its all he gets anymore."

"That's not very comforting." Hinata flopped down onto the queen-sized bed. After spending a night on a bedroll it was bliss.

It had taken them ten minutes to wander the mansion until they found a suitable room. Unfortunately all of the rooms with two beds didn't have a sunken tub and Hinata had put up such a fit about wanting a nice bath that Naruto had finally resigned himself to sharing a bed with her. He didn't really mind, it was just inconvenient was all. On the other hand, she had probably found the nicest guest room in the house. It reminded him of some of the four star hotels he had stayed at when he once traveled with his old sensei, Jiraiya.

The perverted hermit had frequently insisted on class, and got discounts just about everywhere he went. Few were foolish enough to deny one of the most powerful shinobi to ever draw breath a room at their hotel. If anything it would bring business. At least that's what Naruto thought until he discovered that Gama-chan tended to get significantly thinner whenever they slept in class. From then on it was bedrolls and the bare essentials. He never collected on what the lecherous Sannin owed him.

In truth, he missed the old bastard. He may have been a horrible role model, but he was the closest thing Naruto had had to a father. No matter how screwed up he was, Naruto was loathe to deny that he loved the man. His death had taken a toll on him, some piece of him he had never recovered. Naruto thought of Jiraiya hitting on hot angel girls and instantly felt better. The old fart was probably having the time of his life.

"Naruto… Naruto!" Hinata shouted, her face inches from his. She looked pissed. "Did you even listen to a word I was saying?"

Naruto gave her a blank stare.

"Ughh… fine. I'm going to go take a bath, and you better stay the hell out!" She stalked off into the bathroom without giving him a second glance.

Naruto began to regret his decision to help Inari. Dealing with Hinata was getting more irritating. 'Of course she would jump at a chance for luxury!' He looked at himself in a full sized mirror that was placed opposite the bed. For a moment he really thought that the image on the other side was snickering. He didn't blame his hallucination, if anything it was right.

"It just gets better and better, doesn't it?" He asked his reflection.

Miraculously, it didn't reply.

"Whatever."

* * *

'What a baka.' Hinata thought ruefully. 'To think I once crushed on him so hard I was convinced I was in love.'

The eighteen, nearly nineteen-year-old Hyuuga heiress sat in an elaborate sunken bath. She was tired, pissed, and to top it all off it was that time of the month. The bath was nice though. The suds and water jets did wonders to her sore body. She hadn't had a chance to clean up since the night before Lee had arrived in full ANBU regalia and woken her out of a dead sleep for her mission. She was the second to last of the Konoha twelve to progress to chuunin, the last to make jonin, and now the last to finally join ANBU ops. Her father was satisfied once she made jonin- Hinata wanted more.

Ever since she had first met him, Naruto had inspired her, made her want to become stronger. Eventually it had turned into a fanatical obsession that nearly consumed her. So she did the only thing she could- instead of let herself fall in love with a boy who was hopelessly ignorant of her feelings (as all of her friends constantly pointed out), she switched the fixation to gaining strength. Now she was bent on just that- getting strong no matter what. Suitors and marriage would slow her down. If she had it her way she would stay an active shinobi forever.

The idea had arrived to her one day when she had been going through the old clan records. Several generations earlier the Hyuuga heir, a man by the name of Hyuuga Hiama, was able to formally decline the seat of power. Normally such a thing was considered a great affront to the main branch, and would earn one a Caged Bird seal on your forehead. Hiama had found a loophole: if the Hokage, the head of the Black ops. and your partner declared you too valuable an asset to take off of active duty, then you could remain honorable and part of the main branch.

So she killed multiple birds with one stone. First, she would be able to vastly improve her skills as a shinobi- Naruto was the strongest shinobi around currently. His manipulation of nature chakra without the assist of a summon was something no one had ever achieved before. Hinata had watched him take Pain almost single handedly during the assault on Konaha and he was probably the strongest shinobi to ever live short of the Fourth or Uchiha Madara. He had even destroyed one of Pain's incarnations in a single punch while telling Tsunade to go get some tea.

Back then she viewed him as a hero. Now he was, frankly, an ass. 'And that I proclaimed my love for him... all I remember after that was destruction- the great fight between him and Pain. When I asked him about what I had said he hadn't remembered... that was when it had finally ended. When everything anyone ever said about him finally reached me... still I wonder-' True she had once desired him, and he was very handsome, ridiculously so, but that didn't mean she wanted him. As a partner he was a jerk, forcing her to her limit on an S class mission. Her first mission as a partner and her first A+ ranked mission. But when he looked at her with those eyes…

'No! No! No! No! No!' She thought angrily. 'I do not feel for him anymore! If I want to become a strong shinobi like him then I have to become detached… he's the greatest shinobi the world has ever seen. If I follow his lead I can become stronger. That's the only reason I want to be around him. The only reason!' Her line of thinking felt a little hollow, but she ignored it.

She had requested him so she could become stronger, not for any other reason… and so what if she did like him just a little? Its not like there was some reason why she couldn't marry him if she wanted to. He was a shinobi of unrivaled powers and came from a noble family. He was the son of the Fourth Hokage for Kami's sake. How much more qualified could a person be? But that was beside the point, if it happened it was fine, but she couldn't be distracted- even if it was by him. If she wanted to get rid of her heiress status honorably, shake off her mandatory marriage and become a shinobi on par with the great Dark Fox, Uzumaki Naruto, she would have to set aside her wants and work for it. 'If only he wasn't such a jerk...'

Idly she looked at herself in the waters reflection. She was pleasant to look at, she decided. Over the years her body had grown from a girl to a woman and filled out generously in her opinion. Her hips were slightly wider than when she was, say fifteen, and her bust was a bit bigger in the mid range of a C cup. A bit cumbersome for a shinobi, but not really. She once remembered asking Ino about her looks and she had said that she had curves in all the right places. She had let her hair grow out longer to, as a sign of status. It was a pain to maintain, but it was nice.

She studied her face acutely. Her cheekbones and jaw were slightly more prominent, more angular, giving her the more noble look of her father. The soft skin and eyes of her youth were still there, she just looked a little more imposing… fierce. Personally she thought it was a useful upgrade. She no longer had to try and look intimidating anymore, she just was- to most anyway. Naruto was seemingly incapable of intimidation. She had tried the previous night to trap him, but he had escaped quite cleverly.

'Wait… trap him?' Her brows furrowed and she watched her own face grow concerned with worry. 'Why would I want to trap him?'

A very graphic image flashed through her mind and total exactly how she would like to trap him and she cringed. Her dignity and self-image were rapidly being destroyed after only a day with him.

_Knock knock!_

"Hinata you've been in there for two hours already, come on! I need to take a piss for Kami's sake!" The voice of Naruto violently shook her from her reverie.

Hinata looked at the clock in the corner. It really had been two hours. Time flew when you were… well something like that anyway, she figured.

"Yeah, okay Naruto-kun."

"Again with the honorific."

"You could always call me Hinata-chan." She offered, yelling back through the door and wrapping herself discreetly with two small towels.

"…"

"What, afraid its too intimate?" She mocked, opening the door in his face.

A quick study of his face told her that he had been through hell in the last two hours.

"Tazuna. Poker… Gama-chan..." Uzumaki Naruto was clearly upset.

Hinata scowled. "Serves you right. Gambling is a nasty habit."

"Huh?" Naruto sniffed and looked up, as if seeing her for the first time. "Uhmmm… Hinata-chan… your towel… is uh.."

Hinata looked down in confusion. "Oh…"

The top towel had come unwrapped, exposing her right breast. Sheepishly she tugged it back up and strode past him, more annoyed than embarrassed.

"Whatever," she yawned, "you owe me one though."

Naruto looked at her incredulously. "Hell no. It was your fault, and I am not letting you take naked pictures of me so you can sell them to Sasuke." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Of course with Sakura-chan as his wife I wouldn't blame him. Anyone… no, anything is an upgrade…"

"Naruto... what are you talking about? Maybe I should keep and eye on you. Ne?"

Naruto gave her a strange look. "Yeah... who knows what you really use that Byakugan for."

Hinata frowned. Why was Naruto acting so weird? "Naruto-kun… that's rude. Even for you." 'And what I use my kekke genkai for is my business… even if it might be a bit unorthodox.'

He shrugged it off, disappearing into the bathroom and closing the door, giving her a wave of the hand and a half hearted, "Yeah, yeah."

'Losing all that money must have messed with his head… crap seven O'clock? Where did the time go?'

Hinata dressed into her ANBU clothing, leaving the battle armor off. They weren't supposed to start recon until tomorrow, so she was sure it was fine. When she finally flopped into the bed she realized how tired she was. Getting up at six a.m. two days in a row had really taken a lot out of her, and it wasn't like she had gotten great sleep on either of those nights prior. First a horrendous hangover and then a late night with Naruto and then… well another late night with Naruto.

She was barely aware when he slid into bed two hours later and joined her.


	6. Monuments and Dresses

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When Naruto awoke the next morning Hinata was still asleep.

He was thankful for his own dreamless rest. The previous night had been trying for him. First Hinata and her insistence of luxury, then Tazuna nearly killing Gama-chan and finally... well the last issue was an entirely different matter. One of the matters Naruto had never been comfortable with.

He had never felt incapable of controlling his emotions before. Now Naruto was unsure. For some reason Hinata was just... well different. She just got to him more than anyone else. 'Kami-sama knows that Kaka-sensei is more irritating but-' Naruto sighed, rolling out of bed. That was the problem, the 'but' in his thoughts. He was excellent at reading emotions, both his own and others. He was well practiced in focusing his mind, weeding out any distractions that might divert him from his missions. Its not like it was anything new to him, he had seen Sakura's and Tsunade's plenty of times when they were smashed.

So why was the image of Hinata's bare breast so much more difficult to banish from his thoughts?

It was immaterial, he decided, dismissing the matter quickly as he usually did. Quietly he went about clipping his armor on and tightening down the straps. It felt good to be back in his gear again. It was a second skin, protecting him from the troubles of the world, the trivial items that plagued those who didn't possess his gift for cold professionalism.

He placed his fox mask on his face and looked briefly in the mirror. This was who he was, the Dark Fox. Nothing more, nothing less. He needed no one; he cared for no one and nothing at all.

'So why do I fight anyway?' He found himself wondering, gazing curiously at his own reflection. 'If I don't care about anything then what drives me to go on living? Am I too much a coward to die? Why not just kill everyone to prove my existence? Maybe Gaara was right, though he reformed. Perhaps I was wrong to change him? Kami, I'm a mess.' He stared at the dark holes in the mask, behind which his eyes participated in a staring contest that would always end in a draw. He had tried time enough. 'No, I'm worse than him. I'm too much a coward to change because I know no other way of living.'

Were he a lesser man he would have been saddened by this revelation, but then again, Naruto was a master of suppressing irrelevant fancies. Without waiting another moment to contemplate his future prospects, Naruto opened the third floor window and bounded out into the predawn light.

The breeze was cool against his face, refreshing the clarity of his mind. Every mission he accepted was carried out with precision. Uzumaki Naruto did not make mistakes. 'Well, not anymore.' He amended himself. 'Looking back I can't believe how different I was. The world was just a playground- Hokage this and Hokage that. Death changes people. I wonder why Hinata changed... damnit.'

She had somehow strayed into his thoughts again. That wasn't a problem necessarily, as long as it was related to the mission.

He passed a small stream as he broke out of the woods, nearing town. A fleeting glimpse into the water showed no evidence of his turmoil. ANBU gear concealed one's emotions almost as well the training itself. Except to the one being concealed of course. He took stock of his own mental state for a moment. Every time her name showed up he recoiled, even though there was no reason. He attempted to banish her from his thoughts when he had no sound argument why she shouldn't.

"Whatever." He muttered to himself. That word was becoming more and more prominent in his vocabulary as of late.

It was as the report had said. The ship, Prodigal Son, had arrived at nine o'clock that morning. Sure enough there was an abnormal amount of activity about it. Not any more or less than there should be. It was too ordinary. Normally there would be a ruckus about a ship transporting trade goods. 'Yup, definitely the one. Looks like its tonight... I wonder who tipped off our agent anyway?' He'd have to ask Tazuna about it later. He was the governor after all. Surely he would know something.

He spent the rest of the day among the shadows of town, or rather city. Wave had flourished in the years after Konoha's destruction. Nothing pulled an economy out of debt like supplying a warring country, and Konoha was more than willing to accept the support. Numerous shops now adorned every street. Most were less than a year old. The last time Naruto had gone to Wave was when he was seventeen- a little less than two years earlier. He hadn't made contact with anyone during that time, but he had seen the city. It had been a city then. Now it was a minor metropolis.

'Alright,' he thought wryly, 'I can understand the bridge but The Hatake Bar and Grill? Sakura Florists? Naruto Ramen, Sasuke's Sport and Fishing, Uzumaki Optometrists?'

It was obvious that the little stunt Team 7 had pulled those many years ago had a greater impact than he initially expected. Even Sasuke wouldn't be able to callously dismiss such fandom. Naruto shuddered at the thought of Kakashi or Sakura finding out. He was sure they would both take horrible advantage of it. Kakashi would just freeload off of everyone and Sakura would demand for a monument to be made in her honor. 'Man that would be something to see, now wouldn't it?'

Much to his chagrin, he found one.

In the exact center of the city, built at least eighty feet high, and wrought out of polished steel. "Tour the Team 7 Memorial Statue! Only ten ryo! Discounts on restaurant, bar, gift shop and hotel!" A portly gentleman hollered from a stall near its base. He wore a black tuxedo and bowler. The opportunity was obvious.

It was too much to resist, even for him.

"Henge." In mere moments a beautiful little girl of perhaps twelve years with blonde pigtails appeared, garbed in a blue flower print dress. 'Naruko will be perfect for this,' Naruto schemed, 'besides, hiding in plain sight is always a good tactic. This is gonna be good.'

A leaf shunshin placed 'her' right behind the crowd that had gathered before the man. Naruko discreetly made her way to the front. When the man's attention shifted to her, Naruto nearly laughed.

"Pardon me miss, would you like a tour?" The man asked politely, producing a small ticket stub from his suite pocket.

"Oh, yes please." She nodded eagerly and fished her pockets for the fee. "Here you go... ummm- who are these people anyway? I'm just visiting."

The man beamed, happy to divulge what he knew, and perhaps taking a bit too much pride in the doing. "Here you are." He exchanged the ryo for the ticket swiftly before bolstering his voice so the rest could hear. "This is the Team 7 Memorial Statue. Seven years ago a brutal man by the name of Gatou oppressed the people of Wave Country. We were scarcely more than a few shacks back then. Our brave governor, Tazuna-sama, was a bridge builder. Risking his life, he attempted to construct it using what knowledge he had, but he needed the added expertise of artisan builders. He traveled to Konoha for this information. Fearing for the fate of his people, he hired a team of Konoha shinobi to protect him on the way back and while he finished the bridge. This monument," he gestured behind him, "is a tribute to them. Wave was poor you see, so Tazuna-sama was forced to deceive them. He said that he only required protection from bandits... but Gatou had other plans." His tone turned ominous and even Naruto was caught up in the retelling of his first C rank mission... even if it was not entirely accurate. "They were attacked by rival shinobi. They repelled them, but quickly learned of our country's plea, and of Gatou's reign of terror. Uzumaki Naruto, the same one whose name decorates our great bridge, was sympathetic to our cause. Despite the countermand from his superior he swore he would see Tazuna safely to Wave and insure the completion of the bridge himself. So strong was his resolve that the rest of his team eventually consented. Two more vicious assaults were made. In each, every member of Team 7 risked their lives to protect the fate of our people. This is what little we can offer them; we are forever in their debt."

'Hmmmm...' Naruko tugged at the man's sleeve, doing her best to look innocent and ponderous. "Have they ever come back?"

"No," he said, sounding slightly put out, "but should ever they return, any shop in town bearing any of their names must grant them all discounts. This monument is a combination bar, restaurant, and hotel. It's the finest in town across the board and, were they to return, any member of Team 7 would be given a free stay for as long as they require. It is my hope that this offer is fulfilled one day." A brief silence documented a felt shift in the mood. "Let us begin with the tour, right this way please."

An hour later Naruto was thoroughly impressed. The man, Utakutsu, had not been exaggerating. The place really was first class. At first he had been skeptical, but the monument was big enough to hold everything he said it did. Each body contained a different service. Naruto, who stood center looking defiant and courageous, housed the restaurant. Kakashi, naturally, was the bar and stood looking like a visionary, holding a kunai in his right hand with his left in his pocket. Naruto had to suppress his laughter when the thought crossed his mind that a more accurate depiction of his old sensei would have included a particularly racy orange book instead of the small knife. Sasuke was, unfortunately, the hotel. His statue looked as grim set and professional as ever. That left an overly curvaceous Sakura (for she was only twelve at the time) with the gift shop, which held any number of useless trinkets.

'Either way, I can use this to my advantage.' Naruto thought seriously, bounding off rooftops and back towards the mansion. 'And I think Hinata will be in for a surprise... I have one more stop to make.'

* * *

Hinata glared at the clock in something a little stronger than annoyance. '17:04! Where the hell is he? All that talk of professionalism and now he just up and disappeared! Now way scouting would take this long... what a baka. I'll give him his when he comes back.'

When she had awakened that morning Naruto was gone. His ANBU gear had obviously been taken with him, so he was definitely out on business (not that she though he approved of anything else but business on a mission), but there was no way he would fail to report back to his partner. He had to give her a chance at the very least. With little else to do she had spent her day about the house. Inari told her bits and pieces of Naruto's ill-fated first C rank. After a while he had to leave so she went to bother Tazuna. She had won back Naruto's money plus a little extra. At the very least her superior would be happy to hear that piece of news. Of course there was the other thing she had managed to glean from the old man, but she had decided to keep it to herself.

'For now anyway... I can't wait to see his reaction.' Hinata grinned, imagining what the look on his face would be like. 'This might be exactly what I need to prove myself.' She amended, 'I have to be serious. If I do this even half right he'll have no choice but to accept me... information is wealth in the world of subterfuge.'

Unless something had happened to him.

'Why do I even care?' She wondered, nibbling on a piece of celery. She shifted her gaze to the mirror. Clad as she was in her combat gear, she struck an imposing figure. He would see how useful she was. She knew he would. Still... 'Maybe because you've been stuck all day in this place. That's it... I'm just bored, not worried.' A small voice told her that perhaps she was downplaying her feelings, but she dutifully tuned it out. Hinata yawned with idle restlessness and stretched, draping herself over the bed and curling up like a cat.

She shut her eyes tight and willed the world away. In the quiet of her mind nothing could disturb her. She had perfected the technique when she was younger. Then she had been timid and frail. Blocking out all though and existing only as that pleasant drifting sensation was her sanctuary. There she was not Hinata, not the shy girl who was infatuated with an idiot and shunned by her clan because of her weakness. No, in that special place, she just was.

It was harder to do it now. Then she had had so many more problems it seemed, but now she was her own person. Her identity was too strongly formed to be whisked away so easily. Now her anonymous existence was only accessible when she first woke up. Despite her efforts she was still Hinata. With a dejected sigh she opened her eyes again.

Gently, she pushed herself to the edge of the bed and sighed a second time. 'Kami am I bored...' She rubbed her temples, clearing some of the fog from her mind. 'Come on Naru-baka. Just walk through that door for me. At least I'll have someone to vent on then. Wait- what am I saying? You're the reason I'm stuck like this in the first place... damn.'

It appeared someone had been listening. As if answering her prayers, footsteps sounded in her ears, echoing from just down the hall. They drew closer and the handle of the door turned. The oak panel swung open to reveal the aforementioned object of her numerous musings and mental rants.

"HEY Hina-san!" Naruto sauntered in the room. His voice was a bit loud.

"Na-ru-to! Where the hell?..." She trailed off when she saw him, really saw him. The man in front of her was not the Naruto she knew. In fact, this man was dashing and even ravishingly handsome. Her mouth was dry and incapable of forming words for a moment. Then she remembered how to speak. "Okay, why are you wearing a 3,000 ryo fitted tuxedo? I was going to pound you flat, but this is just too intriguing to ignore- and what's that you're hiding behind your back?"

Naruto smiled, looking somehow classy with his wild hair and striking blue eyes. "Well, I figured we'd have a night out on the town." He suggested casually.

Hinata leaned forward, putting her elbows on her thighs and resting her head in her palms. She cocked an eyebrow at his lack of bravado. "So the meeting isn't happening tonight?"

"Oh, it is." Naruto stalked forward with leonine grace, sporting a naughty grin to go with it. "But I thought of the perfect cover. Here," he revealed a large parcel from behind his back, "put this on."

"The box?" Hinata deadpanned.

Naruto frowned in good humor, looking overly upset. "Well... if you say so."

Hinata rolled her eyes. "Just give it to me. Now what do we have here?"

In mere moments she had unwrapped the large parcel, her dexterous hands doing their job quickly. When she had pulled away the last piece of tissue paper Hinata forgot how to breathe. 'Wh-what?'

She pulled the item out to see it in its entirety. Before her eyes was a beautiful lavender silk dress. It was strapless, with a low cut for the bust and a slit traveling up the right side an inch or two above where her ankles would be to nearly hip level. Silver embroidering outlined the seems, traveling as far as the voluminous sleeves that were akin to a traditional kimono. Silver white orchids interlaced with pearls trailed in a meandering pattern down both the back and front, an addition that would further accentuate curves. A quick check revealed there were no tags- it was custom made.

Wordlessly Naruto produced three more containers. The first, a small rectangular one, contained a silver and amethyst choker necklace. Another revealed matching earrings also fashioned after orchids. The last one was the simplest, but perhaps the most wonderful... and terrible. A quick feel reassured her that she had guessed correct- the plain white gold ring... an engagement ring.

"Naruto wha-?"

He pressed his fingers to her lips, smiling playfully. "This place holds me in higher regard than I thought. All of this stuff was less than half normal price... and I have us booked for a combination hotel, bar and restaurant- five stars. Its in the center of town, inside a giant monument to Team 7." He withdrew his fingers, sweeping low to kiss her hand gently.

"So..." Hinata still couldn't talk for some reason. 'Why am I blushing?' Her face was unbearably hot for some reason.

"Don't be so serious. We're going to go there, eat, drink- lightly this time," he added cheekily, "and then retire for the night. You will be my fiancé- technically it shouldn't be a problem. People never pry into shinobi affairs- especially relationships. Also, this will give us an alibi and throw the target off guard."

After a few more staggered breaths Hinata got to her feet and wordlessly went and dressed in the bathroom. When she came back out she smelled mildly of vanilla, lavender, cinnamon and something else that was purely her, and by no means unattractive. Her hair was down and flowed effortlessly over her shoulders to her back. Her face was lightly touched with makeup; her ruby lips were pursed in a tight smile.

"Two questions: A- can I keep it, and B- what's the rest of the plan?" Her voice flowed through him like wind through a grassy plain. Soft and reassuring, and very, very pleased.

Naruto smirked. "Yes, you can keep it- all of it." Her eyes widened. "I mean it. As for my plan... can you use Kage Bushin?"


	7. A Common Bond

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"And might I have your name, sir?"

"Uzumaki. Reservation for two. I believe I asked for a window table on the top floor?"

The man blanched. "By Kami! When I saw the name on the list I thought someone meant it as a joke... Forgive me Uzumaki-sama, right this way please." The man hastily offered to take Naruto's tux jacket, but he politely declined. Hinata let him take her shawl (she had added one she already owned for comforts sake.)

The journey to the Team 7 Memorial Statue had been trying in and of itself. Naruto had insisted they take the major streets. Having a high profile was what they were aiming for; they got their wish. Everywhere they went heads turned and excited whispers broke out among the citizens of Wave. Within five minutes a crowd of over a hundred had begun to trail behind them. Some went running to get friends.

Women wept in the street and men held their sons and daughters high on their shoulders to get a glimpse of their living legend.

To her credit, Hinata acted as cool and aloof as any Hyuuga. Naruto found it difficult to not at least smile at the show of appreciation. After all, he had spent the better part of his life seeking that same acknowledgment. Only then he had wanted to be Hokage.

'I wonder if this is what it would have been like? No,' he thought, 'not even the Fourth was this popular. The Hokage is a person worthy of great respect. Shinobi honor their superiors with silent appreciation.'

Naruto paused in mid stride. Hinata momentarily lost her balance. Her arm was interlocked with his.

"Something wrong?" She asked sincerely. Her eyes narrowed slightly with concern when he didn't reply. "Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head as if coming out of a trance and started walking again. He let out a sigh with mixed feelings. "No, not really. It's just that I was wondering what it would've been like."

Hinata matched his pace again. Her face did not turn from his. "What it would've been like to..."

Naruto glanced at her, making eye contact for the first time since they had left Tazuna's estate. "Be Hokage. When I was younger I always wanted it so much. Now... well I'm not so sure I would've ever been a good Hokage in the first place." His gaze turned to the stars. "I only wanted people to accept me. That's all you care about when you're a kid. You do your best to fit in, to earn that respect."

Hinata nodded and looked up with him. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Before my training as a kunoichi began everyone would always bow to me and treat me well."

"How does that have anything to do with fitting in?" He scoffed mildly. "You were already royalty... basically."

The Hyuuga heiress scowled, but not at him. "That's what I mean."

"Oh?" The blonde questioned. "Take a right here." He added.

Hinata complied, taking the right fork towards the center of the city. The lights began to grow brighter. The nightlife in Wave was apparently a very active one.

"Yeah. I always felt like I didn't deserve it. Sometimes fitting in automatically can be as bad as not fitting in at all. I think the worst part was the look in the branch members' eyes whenever they interacted with me." She said softly. "They always looked torn between begrudging me and pitying me."

"Uh-huh." Naruto agreed soberly. "People get caught between resenting you for the sins of your parents and feeling bad for you. Well, not really sins in your case; feeling sorry for the child because they don't deserve hatred. No child does. Innocence is something to be treasured."

"You seem to know a lot about it Naruto-kun."

The Kyuubi container shrugged. "I was an orphan, remember?"

"Yes, I know. I used to leave things on your window sill."

Naruto looked surprised for once. "That was you?"

His tone was tender, something Hinata had not heard from him before.

The lavender-eyed woman smiled softly. It was a smile of sharing... something special. The corner of her lips drew up just the slightest bit and her eyes glowed with warmth.

"Yes. I once had a crush on you. Remember?" The last bit was said cheekily.

"Yeah." Naruto laughed in genuine humor. "What ever happened to that anyway?"

"To what?"

Naruto made an offhanded gesture with his free arm. "The crush."

Hinata glanced at him, suspicious of his curiosity. "Why?"

"I don't know," he remarked casually, "just 'cause."

Something flickered across her eyes for a moment. Something ugly. As soon as it was there it was gone again. Naruto found himself wondering if he had imagined it.

"It was just a passing thing. I admired you for your spirit. You never gave up. After my shyness caused my training to lag behind my sister's I became aware of what it was like to be scorned... to be ignored." The last few words left a foul taste in her mouth. "Why did people hate you Naruto?"

The jonin's face turned stony. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Hinata gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I understand. You were talking about wanting to be Hokage?" She smartly switched the topic into safe territory again.

There was a short pause before Naruto spoke again. "Because I was scared. I was afraid that no one would ever acknowledge me, so becoming Hokage became my dream." His voice trembled slightly. "I smiled when I hurt most. I made fun of myself, screwed up on purpose to get a few laughs. Anything to get attention, even if it was the bad kind. Iruka-sensei was the first person to really treat me like a person, well except maybe for the Third."

"You knew the third?"

"He used to talk to me whenever I was really down. I think without him I would've given up... and if I hadn't received those gifts. Knowing that somebody out there cared, someone who wasn't doing it out of a sense of duty or sympathy... honestly that saved me in the end. It gave me hope that maybe someday, if I really tried hard enough, I could find people to share my life with." He smiled sadly. "Friends. Sasuke was probably the closest friend I ever had. Hell- he still is. What does that say about my life?"

"Don't feel too bad. My closest friend is probably Tenten, and that's only because of Neji." Hinata offered, giggling just the slightest bit.

It wasn't as irritating as most females he knew. Hinata was a woman, not a girl. Instead of calling her on it he let it pass.

"How are they doing anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Neji and Tenten?" Hinata clarified. "Just fine. They've been talking a lot about marriage."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "No kidding? Must be difficult with Hiashi though."

"I thought so too, but Tenten owns the three major shinobi outfitting stores in Konoha. Letting her marry into the Hyuuga would be a great asset to the clan. Neji pitched it so well that Hiashi eventually gave in. Well, more like dismissed it as inconsequential. 'Do as you wish. It matters not to me.'" She made a mock serious face, doing a remarkably good impression of her stoic father. "In all truth Neji and him have a strong respect for each other. Ever since the chuunin exam finals they've been on better terms."

"How did that happen anyway?" Naruto's brow puzzled in thought.

"Duh. You, you baka. Remember when you kicked Neji's ass?" The lilt in her voice suggested she thought he was fishing for compliments.

"Oh, yeah right. That was luck I guess. In retrospect Neji was really the better shinobi." He responded humbly. "But it was my nindo- still is actually. I never go back on my word."

"I made an oath on your blood, and I meant it."

Hinata's eyes softened. In that moment, with the moon reflecting off of her eyes, Naruto thought her truly beautiful.

"I never thanked you for that." She sounded grateful and even... touched? "So... thank you, Naruto-san." Her eyes locked on his.

Suddenly he was nervous. "No... no its okay. And no honorific." Speaking alleviated some of his anxiety.

"Nobody ever stood up for me like that. I think without your encouragement I would have given up too."

The soft breathiness of her confession made his body tingle. 'Wh-what the hell is this? Why can't I fucking think... what's happening to me?'

"Guess we have more in common than we know eh?" His half-hearted laugh sounded strangely morose. He noted that he hadn't tried to speak.

"Yeah. Damn- we keep getting way off topic. You were talking about Sasuke-kun?"

"He's my closest friend." Naruto silently thanked her for being tact. "When it came down to it I just couldn't kill him." He lowered his voice. "I had the chance you know. At the Valley of the End the fight concluded with each of us using our signature techniques- chidori and rasengan. We were evenly matched, but my attack was aimed at his heart. At that instant everything moved so slow." Naruto's eyes were distant as if he was reliving the experience. "It was like a blinding white... every moment we had ever shared together. At first we were rivals, but eventually we came to love each other as brothers do. I let go with one hand and scratched his hitai-ate. He said I would never even be able put a scratch on it... I did it to tell him I could of won. There were times when I doubted my decision, when I had nightmares of him suffering a worse fate with Orochimaru. I thank Kami for guiding me to do the right thing every time I think about it."

Hinata looked at him, stunned halfway into silence. "Wow Naruto... I never knew you were so... so..."

"Deep? Sometimes I surprise even myself." He admitted. "After we finally got Sasuke back I guess I realized that I didn't need to be Hokage to be accepted. It was out of my hands by then, but I think it was the moment I woke up in the hospital that I gave up on my dream. When I was told that Sasuke had gotten away I felt that if I couldn't even save my best friend, then how could I ever be Hokage, y'know?"

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been to live with that all those years."

"It was bad. The only times I felt worse were when Ero-sennin, Baa-chan and Iruka-sensei died. But I think the shock of death numbed me from a lot of it. I remember when I thought Kakashi was dead; couldn't feel anything at all. When I thought Pain had killed you all of it just exploded." Despite the gravity of the dialogue Naruto was uncannily matter of fact with his retelling.

"Naruto... do you... do you r-remember what I s-said? When Pain had you pinned down?"

The nervous stutter in her voice had come back again. Naruto knew he was broaching a sensitive topic.

"I... no. After Pain misled me to think he had killed you I got so angry that I forgot anything in my recent memory. I barely recall half the fight I had with him before then." Naruto spoke slowly and cautiously. "Why? Was there something important you said?"

Hinata spontaneously decided to examine the pavement. "N-no. It was n-nothing. Basically I just said I would defend you even if it cost me my life. Not only were you my comrade, but I knew you were our only hope in defeating Pain."

Naruto stared at her strangely. "That was very noble of you. I'm... I'm afraid of death. I don't think I could die for someone unless I loved them more than life itself... Its funny. You never think of dying when you do something like that. But when you know you're going to die its different. No, I don't think I could even do that for Sasuke if I knew I would die." He took a breath. "So thank you Hinata. For caring. It means more to me than you suspect."

Hinata was having difficulty breathing. Her heart felt like it was lodged in her throat. A familiar feeling was creeping into her, something she had tried to suppress. With a rising feeling of foreboding she realized what it was. It was misguided, illogical and desperate. There was only one thing it could be- only the old Hinata had ever felt like that. 'Why can't I stop staring at him? His eyes... why didn't I ever notice how beautiful they are? There's something behind them that's drawing me in. I'm drowning in them... Naruto what are you doing to me? I'm floating in his warmth...'

"Naruto... when I did that... actually there was another-"

"We're here." Naruto interrupted suddenly. Whatever she was about to say he was afraid to hear it. Somehow he knew whatever it was could upset them both and possibly interfere with the mission. From deep within he found the detached professionalism that he had grown so accustomed to living with. Emotions were useless. He was a shinobi. "Come."

Hinata didn't reply, but nodded slightly. She silently thanked him for stopping her. For some reason she hadn't been able to restrain her voice. In that instant it had seemed so natural to tell him that she had once loved him, that after that she devoted her life solely to becoming stronger. That if he would've returned her love then maybe... and if he wasn't such a jerk now then...

'No! No! It wasn't love! I didn't love him! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' The Hyuuga heiress continued to chastise herself in the privacy of her mind. She absently gave her shawl to the greeter, barely registering the walk to their table. They were seated and faced each other once more. 'Stupid period... stupid hormones... stupid mood swings...' She felt incredibly relieved that Naruto had sensed she was about to do something foolish. And yet, a small part of her wished she hadn't.

When Naruto offered her a choice of champaign or sake she declined both.

The food had helped a lot. After they had ordered their conversation meandered back into safe territory. Small talk and such. When the meal was finished they were guided to their room, a thing surpassing even the grandeur of the Hyuuga manor. Despite how much she appreciated the luxury Naruto had just delivered her, Hinata was unusually serene.

"Are you going to tell me the plan now?" She asked blandly, sitting on a large leather couch. Her feet stretched out and were placed on the low table in front of the massive T.V.

"Sure am." Naruto made a kage bushin of himself and then swiftly began changing out of his tuxedo. "Make a shadow clone and then change into your ANBU gear. I'll tell you when you're done."

"Kay."

She did as he asked. It was a bit of a strain on her reserves to make even a single kage bushin, but she did know the jutsu. Ten minutes later she came out of the bathroom in her stealth get up with her hair done into a ponytail and her mask on the top of her head. She had removed her make up as well. Without it she looked a noticeably more drained than when she had just minutes earlier.

"Took you long enough." He harrumphed. "Girls..."

"You'd rather I come out wearing red lipstick and mascara?" The sour look on his face told her she had won. "I thought not."

Naruto ignored her jibe and removed a small folder from his suite jacket. "Why I didn't let the host take it." He stated dryly. "Anyway, our intel. was correct. Here, see for yourself."

"An engineers cross-section of the ship? How did you get this?" She was generally interested.

"Eh? I already had it. I just kept it from you until now. No offense, but on a first mission I'd rather do things my way." He explained, looking languid with his head rested in one hand.

Hinata scanned the contents quickly and sat beside him, laying the papers on the low table. "This is a shipping schedule. Were checking for any other suspicious activity?"

Naruto sighed. "Astute, but incorrect. There is a ship docked less than ten yards from the Prodigal Son. You will set up in the crow's nest and keep me updated on enemy movement. You'll finally be able to make use of those eyes your always bragging about. Also, if one of them should escape it'll be your job to do clean up. There's a small fishing boat down a few piers. We'll be going by the book with SKP. Its up to you to execute a DT-32-I." He smirked. Even Sakura had difficulty remembering all of the codebook jargon.

"Right. Silent kill protocol. Disposal tactic 32- incendiary. Take them out on the boat, punch a hole in it, then set in on fire. I have incendiary exploding tags, so it shouldn't be an issue." Hinata wore a smug smile. "Didn't think I'd know what you were talking about, did you?"

Naruto shrugged. "Frankly, most veterans can't remember all of it. I wont say I'm impressed, but I'm not disappointed either."

"And you said targets. I thought it was a single kill in and out job?"

"Sharp." He commented. "Its in an enclosed space. There's bound to be at least one other person. If they hired a shinobi bodyguard there's a slight chance one of them might give me the slip. I'd catch them, but its possible I'd be too late to keep it SKP."

"Yeah, makes sense. When's the meeting?" She stifled a yawn.

"Well I figure if we leave now then we'll be sitting there on a stake out anywhere between half an hour to four hours. Not too bad."

"What about us?" Hinata's clone was seated on the bed next to Naruto's. The door leading to where the king sized piece of furniture was stood ajar.

Hinata smiled and gave Naruto a knowing look. "Hiding in plain sight. You're going to stay here and act like fiancés. Am I right, Naruto-kun?" She elbowed him lightly.

"Yup. Pretty simple." He waved at them and winked. "Well, see you there." In a pop, Naruto vanished.

'What... he left a second kage bushin with me? Why that!' Hinata calmed herself. 'Whatever, its not like he's the only one to ever use that tactic before. Damn hormones.'

She gave her clone a critical look. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Don't worry, I am you." The bushin winked. "Go knock 'em dead girl... errr forgive the pun- not intended."

Hinata rolled her eyes. Shadow clones were strange things. They knew they lived a short existence and tended to sway more drastically with their thoughts and feelings. With one last look she jumped out the window.

"So what do we do?" Naruto's clone asked. He already looked insufferably bored.

"Do what couples do?" Hinata suggested. "Go order us some sake or something."

Naruto just shrugged and left to do as she asked. When he returned several minutes later with two large bottles of normal rice wine Hinata was wearing only her under things.

"Well don't just stand there." She teased. "Lock the door and grab the spare blanket."

Were he not a clone, Naruto would have found the situation altogether suspicious. "They remember what we do, mind you."

The Hyuuga heiress flicked a stray lock of hair back over the creamy skin of her shoulders. Though he was somewhat immune now, Naruto was sure that the real him would find it distracting later. When he made no move to do as she asked Hinata took the initiative and removed the two bottles from his hands, setting them on the low table. She poured them each a cup in the elaborate glass vessels that sat on coasters. Clearly the hotel management knew their business. A box of expensive chocolates was also present.

"Come now, don't be shy." She swayed her hips suggestively as she walked to him, then ran her index finger along the bottom of his chin. "I'll get the blanket then." She quirked her lips and grinned naughtily.

In less than a minute the couch was hinged back into a platform double its previous size. A blanket and several soft pillows sat on top of the cool leather. Hinata patted the spot next to her, indicating for Naruto to join her. The only change in his stance was his right hand, which was running through his hair. He looked as if he was trying to make a decision.

"I'm not going to like this... well the real me isn't anyway." He said at last.

"And I'm going to like it anymore than you?" She laughed lightly. "Nothing better than playing a trick on yourself. Imagine the look on our faces when they see us just before we disperse."

"I'll try to think on it humorously. Its funny: this gives new meaning to the phrase 'getting yourself into trouble.' Don't you think?" He slowly moved to join her.

Hinata kissed him daintily on the lips. Her hands worked to rid him of his jacket. With his assistance they were able to get rid of the entire ensemble down to his boxers in only a minute or so.

"Alright. Under the covers we go. This is going to be priceless." Hinata gave him another chaste kiss and grabbed the nearest sake cup and a piece of dark chocolate to go with it. She mmmmed her pleasure at the taste of the chocolate. "Y'know, this will be good practice for whoever I marry... if I ever marry... Think you'll ever get involved with someone, Naruto?"

He followed her lead and tasted the chocolate with the sake. "Nah... and I think I messed up. It's supposed to be champaign."

Hinata arched her eyebrows. "What? Oh- why?"

"I don't know. Kakashi called it the drink of desire once. I think its supposed to be romantic or celebratory or something. All I know personally is that it's sweet and bubbly. Its probably good with the chocolate." He sipped the sake as if considering he theory. "Yeah, probably better than this anyway."

"It doesn't matter. In the scheme of things it won't hinder my plan." Hinata eyed him curiously. Her expression was mischievous.

"What do you have planned?" Naruto asked, knowing precisely what her so called 'plan' was.

Slowly, seductively, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She brought her face so close to his their noses nearly touched. Her eyes were intense.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Naruto quickly concluded her words were the best use of sarcasm he had ever experienced.


	8. Unexpected

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Night draped two figures in shadow. Soundlessly they bounded from rooftop to rooftop, heading west. It was difficult to tell precisely who or what they were, though one got the feeling their intelligence was decidedly human. At a junction they parted. A last glance between the two revealed the focused purpose they shared.

"Just as we planned."

Several minutes later one of the figures leaped down into an area surrounded by large steel cargo boxes. A second figure stood in waiting. Taller, muscular but lithe, and certainly masculine. He wore a white fox mask with red and black flames details. A shock of blonde hair was his only memorable attribute.

"You're late." The blonde said.

His visitor was a female wearing a cat mask detailed with purple orchids. She was perhaps four or five inches shorter than him. Indigo hair was tied into a neat ponytail. Milky skin could be seen between the gaps in her clothing- namely her arms betwixt her gloves and forearm guards and her sleeveless gray vest over a black tunic.

"Gomen." A wispy soprano voice stole on the wind. "I saw activity as I was leaving."

"All the more reason for you to have hurried." The male responded. "But stealth takes precedent, so you did the right thing. Proceed with phase two."

"Hai."

No more words were spoken. Both figures disappeared in a blur of speed.

The Prodigal Son was a modern cargo vessel of steel with a coal-fired boiler that drove its massive propeller shafts. Over three hundred feet long, it was the cutting edge of long-range bulk transportation services. Most would admire such a fine ship.

The figure attempting to climb up its sheer steel sides held no such feelings.

'Damn... I don't know why I didn't just jump on.' Naruto berated himself. 'Guess I'll have to use a little chakra to get over the side. I doubt that the target has anyone who could sense that anyway.'

A small burst of sustained energy through his hands and feet brought him the grip he required. In less than ten seconds he had cleared the railing at the top and landed noiselessly on the steel deck.

"Night Orchid confirms one unit in the nest. A second unit approaches from the aft." Hinata's buzzed lightly in his ear.

He did not respond. Then again, she knew he wouldn't until the mission was complete. Stealth was key.

"Suggest Dark Fox uses bow cargo elevator then proceeds through port service shaft."

Naruto complied and made his way to the large cargo elevator located towards the front of the ship. He used chakra to soften the sound of his landing to the floor a dozen feet below him. Above and to the right he saw a small hatch. It opened with a barely audible creak. Naruto almost grunted in disgust at how well maintained it was.

Dim lighting made him pause briefly until his eyesight adjusted. After a minute he made his way down the service shaft until he arrived at a hub.

"Take the ladder to your right and go down two decks. About twenty yards aft on the port side there will be a pressure door. Units one and two are now in there."

The ladder was cold like the rest of the ship. The gloves he wore made the sting much easier to ignore. When he arrived on deck D of the ship the lighting changed again. This time to a red color. Naruto mirthfully thanked his hosts for being as considerate as to set him in a killing mood. Red always got him bothered.

He smiled subtly beneath his mask and continued down the hall. When he was five feet from the door he stopped and listened.

"...what made you change your mind?" A baritone voice asked. It sounded vaguely familiar.

A small chortle was heard on the other side of the door. "After those brats paid me a visit I realized that this town was built by hopes and dreams. Those things are malleable. If I shape them as I wish then I can make us more powerful. Your offer was only part of that."

The second speaker's voice Naruto recognized immediately. 'What the hell is Tazuna doing here?'

"Well, let's get down to business-"

The door crashed open and Naruto was immediately behind the first speaker with a kunai at his throat.

Tazuna, who looked strangely sober, balked and fell backwards over himself. "Wh-what? I thought you were at the hotel?"

"They are." The other said. "I was the one who took down their reservation."

Naruto pressed the kunai into the vulnerable flesh of his prey, drawing a small trickle of blood. "Utakutsu... the man who gave me that tour. Pity. I thought you were quite the gentleman." He drawled almost casually.

"H-how?" The man choked slightly.

"The cute blonde. You know the one- pigtails and a flower print dress." He explained.

Utakutsu laughed bitterly. "Shinobi and their tricks... should never be underestimated."

A violent crackle of static rang in Naruto's ears. "...What the hell? Oh shit! Dark Fox we've been-" Hinata's panicked voice cut off suddenly.

A rapid feeling of alarm sped into his system. Somehow it had been a trap. Without taking another moment to consider the circumstances of Hinata's warning, Naruto sliced the man's throat. He fell to the floor, gagging his last breath. Naruto kicked him harshly for good measure.

Then he vanished. On the ground was a large steel oxygen tank.

"Sorry we used you that way Utakutsu, but we needed to be sure the old man was telling the truth." A voice spoke from the doorway.

Naruto pivoted to see a Mist jonin flanked by two chuunin. Standing behind them was Utakutsu. 'They used substitution. No matter. I can destroy them now and ask Tazuna questions later.' He moved to attack. It was then he realized he couldn't move.

"Your loose lipped partner talked to Tazuna-san here about the circumstances of her assignment to you. Said you were weak against genjutsu. Looks like she was right." The man continued.

The trio of enemy shinobi walked into the room so they were behind him Utakutsu helped Tazuna up. "You played your part excellently." He said to the bridge builder.

Tazuna spat. "No problem. Been meaning to get that brat back for a long time coming."

Naruto felt himself being manipulated. Against his will he turned to look at them.

Their leader was tall, taller than Naruto anyway, but wiry. A genjutsu specialist if the ANBU jonin had ever seen one. His two subordinates looked similarly built, though he was sure they balanced the team with ninjutsu and taijutsu. They all wore standard Mist equipment. Camo cargo pants with matching long sleeved shirts and green and brown flack jackets.

"Looks like you made a mistake this time, Konoha." The leader spoke as if he were chiding an age-old friend. "You should have picked better friends..."

"Yeah." Tazuna snorted, taking a swig from the flask at his hip. "That girl of yours can't hold her liquor for anything. Don't worry, I didn't take advantage of her."

Naruto kept his calm. "I don't believe you. Any moment she'll be coming through that door."

"You're right about that." Another person, probably Tazuna's man, walked in with a bloodied Hinata in his arms. She was dead. "Just like you told me. She went down from a bolt from directly behind her."

As he said, a bolt protruded from her chest. It had gone clear through her heart.

It didn't seem real to Naruto. One moment she had been alive, the next... He knew she would only slow him down. Now he regretted accepting the S rank as their first mission. 'First I kill them all... then I'll worry about her. I have no emotions. I am a shinobi.'

"You will regret killing a shinobi of Konoha." He said quietly.

Tazuna scoffed, then nodded to his man. He dropped her unceremoniously onto the floor, bowed and left the room again. "Too bad. No matter how many drinks you gave her, I don't think she'd kiss you now."

Naruto stared into Tazuna's eyes for a moment, studying him. 'Hinata would never drink unless forced to. Also there's no way...' He understood.

"Bastard." Naruto spat onto Tazuna's shoe.

The drunkard growled, then turned his gaze to the Mist jonin. "Say, is he really unable to move?"

The jonin nodded. "It's a paralysis genjutsu that once cast need not be sustained. I don't have to concentrate to keep it up. I just use a set amount of chakra and the target will stay immobile for a time."

Tazuna cracked his knuckles. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time."

The first blow stung, but was too nothing bad. The next two were worse. After a dozen more blows Naruto was beginning to feel doubtful. Then the drunkard punched his face.

"That'll teach ya'." Tazuna backed off and went behind the Mist nin again, going for another nip at his flask.

"I'm afraid we have to kill you now." The jonin stepped forward. "We can't have you viewing the proceeding of our meeting."

Naruto smirked. "You underestimate me."

"Words of a man who knows he's about to die." The shinobi droned. "It is clear we have you at a disadvantage."

"Actually, I have you flanked." Another voice spoke.

"What?"

And then he was moving. Naruto landed a punch on the stunned jonin, then punched a water tank to his right. A single kunai to the head took care of Utakutsu, who collapsed in a heap on the steel floor. This time real blood pooled from his body.

"Suiton: Water Prison no Jutsu!"

Before the chuunin could react they were trapped in large orbs of water. The jonin turned to see his comrades' plight. It was a mistake. Naruto withdrew the standard ANBU katana from his back and pierced the man's heart.

After several minutes the two chuunin drowned and his rescuer released the jutsu. When the water fell it confirmed his suspicions.

"You!"


	9. The End of the Beginning

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_Two Hours Ago_

Shikamaru leaned back into his chair and puffed at his pipe. The Hokage hat bent over his forehead and shadowed his face. Beneath the buffer of his position he was still the same lazy Nara he had always been- spouting phrases detailing how tortured his boring lifestyle was.

'This is not at all what I expected...' He mused. Half in regards to himself, half to the stack of paperwork in front of him.

His eyes skimmed over the base details of the mission for the seventh time. Another drag on his pipe told him that he had burned through his tobacco. Without changing his focus he reached down into the secret drawer Tsunade had installed during her reign. His hand found the jar of pipe tobacco and removed a pinch. After a moment of hesitation he grabbed his flask of sake too.

He shut the panel shut absent mindedly, perhaps too absent mindedly- for his pinkie got jammed in the gap. Cursing mildly under his breath, he opened the compartment again and removed his abused appendage and stuck it into his mouth, sucking on it gingerly. The damage he had done to himself when he had fought Tayuya of the Sound Four those many years ago still smarted. The movement in his small finger was slightly less than his others. On top of that it hurt more when he hit it against anything, or in this case, jammed it. Just another thing to make Shikamaru's existence more tortured, a misdeed designed specifically by Kami to sour his mood. His only other major injury had been a broken leg during Pain's assault on Konoha. That had healed quite nicely, and never bothered him. Apparently Sakura really was a fantastic med-nin.

He set the flask down, cleaned the ash out of his pipe, and packed more tobacco. A trickle of chakra ignited the crushed leaves. The sweet scent of the smoke calmed his somewhat annoyed state. A quick sip from his flask further soothed his tortured condition.

Despite his most valiant efforts he was still irritated.

Shikamaru removed his hands from his pipe and flask, then let out a little sigh, rubbing his temples gently. 'Troublesome... I don't care if ANBU considers him irreplaceable- every third time he accepts a mission its troublesome for me.'

A knock at the door interrupted his self pity.

"Hokage-sama?" Some chuunin, a woman the Rokudaime recognized as Uka, spoke from behind the door.

He had half a mind not to answer at all. Unfortunately, Shikamaru had both responsibilities and a conscience. If he wasn't trying to reclaim the power the Hokage had once been privy to and restore Konoha to its former glory, he probably wouldn't have spoken. Then again the reason he was Hokage was waiting outside the door for him. The least he could do was vent on him after he got done with his current appointment.

"Hai?" The tone of his voice held only a hint of his current frustration. Shikamaru considered himself very socially conscious... for an antisocial. All in all, he still sounded annoyed.

"Uzumaki Naruto is here as you requested, my lord."

Giving himself up to the inevitable, Shikamaru took another swig at his sake, then raised his voice. "Send him in."

The door swung outward as if by an unseen hand- likely the work of Uka opening it for him. Naruto really was a pretentious bastard these days. A moment later a mirthless Kyuubi container walked its way into the room and closed the door. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. A grim smile communicated the silent acceptance of his fate. The two members of the legendary Rookie Nine stared at each other, measuring. After a brief break in the stare-down Shikamaru let out a plume of smoke right into the ANBU jonin's face.

He hated smoke.

"Have a seat, Naruto." The Rokudaime didn't attempt to mask his disappointed sigh. He picked up his flask and offered it to his colleague. "Want a drink?"

Naruto forced a pained laugh and an even more pained smile. "That bad huh?"

Shikamaru placed the rice liquor back into its drawer. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. You really screwed up big this time Naruto. I mean it. You fucked up."

Said shinobi shrugged. "At least the mission was a success." He offered lamely.

"A success? A success?" The shadow-user mocked humorlessly. "I don't give a shit if you kept your Kami damned success rate in tact. If the luck of Kami himself didn't reside in every inch of your body, you would have been dead. You hear me? Dead!" He paused for a moment, switching from being angry to being somber. "Not to mention what happened to your partner."

"But-"

"Don't try to convince me. Tell it to her, Naruto!" Shikamaru continued firmly, though still masking much of his upset. He produced a document with Naruto's signature on it. "I knew you were a heartless bastard Naruto- an emotionless elite from the ranks of the ANBU, but even for you, this is low."

"Let me-" Naruto started again.

"No." The Rokudaime interrupted." Let me: You take some time to think about it, Naruto, really think. I gave her to you as a partner for a reason. To let that happen to her is dishonorable in the extreme."

Naruto let out a defeated sigh and let his gaze drop to the polished wood floor. 'If only I had been kinder to her...'

* * *

_Three Days Earlier_

_"You!"_

_"Me!" The voice mocked back. "I'm not weak like her." The lithe figure pointed to the bloodied corpse of the indigo haired ANBU on the floor. "That person died because you refused to accept her for who she was. In an attempt to change her life she sought to become a great shinobi- the strongest kunoichi in the world..."_

_"And now?" Naruto's speech was strained from the lump that had formed in his throat._

_"Its as I said." The shinobi continued. "She died. All that remains of her is what you see before you now." A laugh, high pitched and bordering on deranged echoed through the small room. "A false perception that only the blind can see. Open your eyes, Dark Fox. The girl you knew is dead."_

_Naruto stared at the lifeless body of his comrade, saying a silent prayer. "Yes... I suppose you're right." He glanced back up at the bitter shinobi with silent remorse. "It seems I severely miscalculated her talents. As you said- she's as dead as any corpse could be."_

_His rescuer smirked. "She deserves everything short of a grave."_

_"Why didn't you save her?" Naruto whispered quietly._

_"She was excess baggage. A shinobi has no emotions." The speaker said evenly._

_"Hai... that they don't." With a sad smile his gaze returned to Hinata's dead body._

_"Hai, that it is." Naruto admitted._

* * *

_Two Hours Ago_

Shikamaru huffed. "But you still wont reconsider eh? Don't you think it's a little unfair?"

Naruto struck the desk with his fist. "Unfair? I'll tell you what's unfair- that a kid meant to be a hero was tormented for two thirds of his life- that's unfair... What she put me through was unfair! She got what she deserved. She was only getting in the way. Its my duty to operate as efficiently as possible. I am a shinobi of Konoha- my feelings don't matter. I stay detached so I can make the right decision. I was being perfectly reasonable."

"No." Shikamaru corrected evenly. "What you are being is selfish. We're all human at the core Naruto. No matter how dark it gets the sun still warms the earth. Even you have more sympathy than that."

The blonde grinned hostilely and bared his teeth. "But you forget, Shika-kun- I'm no human."

"Don't give me that crap again. We both know you haven't had a run in with your tenant since Pain."

"How do you know?" Naruto accused, insinuating that he knew otherwise.

Shikamaru snorted. "Stop trying to change the subject Naruto. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, but this is just childish. Besides, my IQ is over two hundred."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Naruto paused again. "Anyways... I still haven't made my decision yet."

"About?" The Hokage questioned.

Naruto glared. "You know what about."

* * *

_Three Days Earlier_

_"So what do you say?" The shinobi drawled. "I could take her place and nobody would ever know."_

_Naruto laughed bitterly. "I think you already have."_

_"So?"_

_"Let me take you back to Konoha with me." He answered._

_"Well that much we already knew." The speaker dead-panned._

_"I... have some thinking to do. Besides, with what you pulled..." He looked like he was going to say something else, but he stopped himself. "...yeah I'll have to think about it."_

* * *

_The Present  
_

"Well the deadline is today. This is the last chance you'll get." The Hokage warned.

"I know!" Naruto responded angrily, losing his cool. "I just need more time."

The shadow-user shook his head. "No," he said gravely, "what you need is to tell me whether I rip up this paper here and now, or sign it with my signature. Time's up." He raised his voice so it would be heard on the other side of the door. "Send her in."

"'Her?'" Naruto asked anxiously.

"Who else would she be?" Shikamaru answered sarcastically.

The person entered the room.

* * *

_Three Days Earlier  
_

_The feminine form of his ally stalked towards him. "In truth I don't think she's completely dead, but I doubt she'll recover." The woman took out a kunai. "But just in case..."_

_"WAIT!" Naruto cried, but it was too late._

_In one swift movement she plunged the kunai between the lavender eyed ANBU's breasts._

_She smiled at him. "This will be our little secret, hai?"_

_"H-hai."_

* * *

_Three Days Earlier_

"Wow, that was waaaaay better than I thought it'd be." Clone Hinata said happily, giggling.

Clone Naruto chuckled. "What, you got something to say? Like you thought it'd be bad? Please- when I choose what we do satisfaction is guaranteed... and that was fantastic. You were great."

The two were huddled under the blanket on the couch, snuggling contentedly. Both looked slightly flushed, as if they had just partook in some exciting event. Their eyes were glazed, as if in another place.

"Yeah..." Hinata half sighed, half spoke. Her breathy voice was very erotic. "You make a great partner..."

Naruto smacked her playfully. "Oh, stop that. You make it sound as if we did something naughty."

"Did we?" Hinata teased back, poking his ribs.

"That tickles!" Naruto convulsed in mock pain. "You truly are evil."

"Only for you." She replied, again in her husky voice.

Naruto flipped her into submission. "Really now, we can't have you doing that." He said coyly. "Things might go to far..."

Hinata covered her mouth in mock terror. "Oh no! Kami forbid!" She pushed him off and smiled. "But you really are a great partner."

"Yeah, me and Sasuke used to do this all the time." He said, sounding amused.

"What?" Hinata looked at him in disbelief. "You did not!"

"Hell yeah we did... well minus the cuddling bit." He added.

Hinata smacked him lightly on the butt. "Like hell minus the cuddling!" She accused.

"Whatever." He gave up, throwing his arms in the air as if he were surrendering his soul.

"Anyway, nice pick." She complimented.

"Say, Hina-san? Do you ever- are you okay?" The concern in his voice quickly turned to alarm. Hinata had grown pale and her eyes were shut with pain.

"Its nothing," she spoke between grit teeth, "just 'that time of the month.'"

Naruto looked confused. "What 'time'? Am I missing something?"

Hinata moaned, half in pain, half in response to his utter stupidity. "My period, you baka. Girls... they don't have dicks... ughhh I get really bad cramps sometimes..."

"Ooooooh." Naruto nearly smacked his forehead for his incomprehension. "You sure though? You look pretty bad..."

Hinata did her best impression of a smile. "That's not a nice thing to say to a girl..." She was panting so heavily she couldn't complete her sentence. As if someone had cut her strings she fell to the floor, clutching at her abdomen.

"Hinata? Hinata? HINATA!"

* * *

_Two Hours Ago_

"Hey.." Naruto gave her a half hearted greeting.

"Hey." The woman replied, but was void of any emotion. She knew her life hung in the balance.

"I'd like a brief report from her before anything else. This is all right with you, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked authoritatively.

Said shinobi nodded his head, but made no further indication of communicating his thoughts on the matter.

"Please begin then." The Hokage prompted.

"He was lucky I intervened when I did." She started evenly. "Had I not taken the initiative the mission would have failed and there would have been another shinobi to add to the body count. On the other hand, there was no way I'd let a comrade die." She explained.

"That's a given," Shikamaru agreed, "anything else?"

She shook her head. "No. We burned all the bodies. There will be no graves for any of them."

The Rokudaime gave them both a stern look. "Despite the near failure of the mission and almost getting another Konoha shinobi killed, I'd have to say you salvaged it pretty well. Its my opinion that you should give her a chance, Naruto."

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "I already gave my former partner a chance. That person I knew is now dead. I have no reason to be giving another chance to anyone-"

"Bastard!" After all I did for you! I saved your life!" The woman seethed.

"But," he continued calmly, "I do owe you a debt. I'll consider this payment."

The kunoichi regained her composure. "So you'll let me be your partner?"

"You'll let me rip this up?" Shikamaru added, stifling a yawn- he hated dramatics. Life was so troublesome.

Naruto hesitated for only a second. "Yes." The two other shinobi let out sighs of relief.

"Very good." Shikamaru destroyed the document and threw it into his wastebin. "The two of you are dismissed.

The Kyuubi container and his partner began their way out the door.

"Oh and Naruto?" The Hokage asked. He sounded as though he had forgotten something.

"Yeah?"

"According to the law its your job to find her suitable accommodations. Its forbidden to stay anywhere where friends or family might sway her loyalty. Konoha comes first. You know the drill right?"

Naruto gave Shikamaru one of his trademark smiles. Then he raised his middle finger. "'Course I know, you shadowy pervert. ANBU HQ will figure it out. Cya, Shika."

"I have no family." The woman whispered darkly as they left- so faint that even Naruto couldn't discern what she had said.

* * *

_The Present_

When they emerged from the Hokage tower Naruto's partner turned to him.

"If it wasn't saving your life, then what did you mean by debt?" She questioned.

"Simple, Hina-chan," Naruto replied sincerely, "you won back all that money from Tazuna-san for me."

"Oh." The Hyuuga heiress remarked darkly "Can't believe it slipped my mind."

* * *

_Two days, Twenty Three Hours Earlier_

Once they had dumped the bodies into the boat and burned it, Naruto and Hinata headed back to the hotel. Naruto couldn't help but sneak glances at her. 'She really is completely different from the shy weird girl I once knew. She's right- that Hinata might as well be dead... vanished just like her bushin did after she stabbed it. I can't believe I panicked like that either. Its as if something from my past forced me to move. Like I made a mistake once and something really bad almost happened... oh well!' Some part of him mourned the old Hinata's 'death, but overall he liked the upgrade.

During their disposal of the bodies Hinata had explained everything to him.

"Tazuna-san told me this guy had come and offered to get him in on the deal." She had said. "Tazuna didn't want to act in either direction, so he said he'd think about it. After you told me the details of the operation in our suite I went to the bathroom and made a second kage bushin. The make-up excuse worked well with that- it was why I used a little more than usual when I dress up." She explained. "Then it was just a simple matter of the clone taking my place while I snuck out the window and went to the meeting in a henge of Tazuna. I informed them of our presence to make them trust me. Then I faked my death by having my clone do a death genjutsu... its so basic, but so useful."

"Yeah, Sakura fell for it during our survival training." Naruto supplied.

"No... serious?"

"Yeah." He laughed. "Sensei made it look like Sasuke was dying from dozens of kunai and shuriken wounds. She passed out instantly."

Hinata smiled. "That's first rate blackmail material right there, thanks."

"No problem."

"Anyway... the man who carried her was another kage bushin she made. In a way we were very lucky." The Hyuuga heiress admitted. "Five more minutes and those two would have run out of chakra. Ermmm... yeah... So after I dumped off my body I made a point of arguing with you."

"Uh-huh. It was the bit about the kiss that tipped me off." Naruto revealed. "That and the Hyuuga's weakness. I know you would never tell that no matter how messed up you were."

"And that I'd never drink with Tazuna." Hinata added when he didn't. She gave him a glare for good measure. "When I realized you were immobile I figured out how it worked by asking if I could pommel you unhindered... between the lines anyway."

"Pretty smart." He observed.

"Yeah, well, I made sure to punch you in clothed areas first just to be safe. When I made contact with your skin- when I hit your face..."

"That's how I got out of the genjutsu- I know. When you announced that you had them flanked I used it as a distraction to take out Utakutsu and the jonin."

"Weird coincidence he was your guide eh? Good thinking with the water, by the way. It was exactly what I needed."

"I remembered seeing that you had a strong arsenal of water jutsu. Your choice was good too. Silent drowning by water prison. Funny- Zabuza tried to do the same thing with Kakashi... though I think sensei had an air bubble or something."

"Really? The same move?" She questioned.

"Yup."

"Weird. Lets get back now- I feel a little worn out." Hinata let out a sudden grown of pain and clutched her stomach.

"Bad food?" Naruto asked.

"Nah- cramps." Hinata answered dismissively.

He gave her a questioning glance. "Snickers and a Midol when we get back?" He offered.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?" She scowled.

"Fine then. Be pissy." The Black Ops. jonin countered.

"No... no that's alright." Hinata said a little desperately.

"So you do want a snickers and a Midol, then." He said teasingly.

"I could really use some chocolate right now." She confessed in defeat.

Naruto gave her a victory sign. "Speaking of which, I wonder how are clones are doing?"

Hinata rubbed herself gently as they jumped their way onto the first building that marked the way back to the Team 7 Memorial Statue.

"I'm sure they behaved themselves."

* * *

_Two Days, Twenty-Two Hours, Thirty Minutes Earlier_

When they returned through the window they realized they had been wrong about the clones.

"YOU SLEPT TOGETHER?" Hinata and Naruto shrieked in unison.

Hinata stretched lazily then moaned into Naruto's neck. "Yes... oh yes. He was quite good. You should try him out some time... mmmmmmmm highly recommended." She kissed the clone deeply.

"Mhmmmm..." The Naruto clone murmured huskily. "And she was incredible... I could have done it a hundred more times..." He returned to kissing her.

Both shinobi stiffened in shock. "When they dispel..." Hinata trailed off.

"By Kami's sweet mercy!" Naruto continued. "We'll remember everything! We'll basically have slept together!"

"That's right everything." Both said erotically. "Chou!" In a puff of smoke they were gone.

After a pause, Naruto and Hinata face faulted.

* * *

_Two Days, Twenty Three Hours Earlier_

As soon as it came it was gone again. Hinata sighed in relief and snuggled back into Naruto's chest. "See? All better now."

"Good." Naruto idly picked the remote off from where it lay neglected on the ground. "Yeah, you can never go wrong with Western movie actors." He said off handedly.

"Yeah," Hinata agreed, picking up a chocolate and popping it daintily in her mouth, "that Mel Gibson guy was really great."

Naruto poked her playfully. "You'll get fat."

The Hyuuga heiress's clone glared daggers at him. "Say that again."

Sensing the massive amount of killer intent coming from his ally, Naruto wisely decided that he might want the option of having kids at some point... no matter how unlikely. "Gomen..."

"Good." She smirked, looking extremely smug with herself.

"Yeah he was good." Naruto continued the topic. "But your perception is altered because you thought he was really hot."

"So?" She questioned. "He's rugged. All we have around here are metro looking guys... I swear, for some reason every shinobi in Konoha is incapable of growing a beard, let alone stubble. It's like someone decided just not to deal with it. Kami must have been an artist or something..."

"Aaaanywaaaaay," Naruto interrupted, "There were plot holes. I mean, why didn't he just use substitution when he was going to be executed. That Braveheart guy must have been very poorly trained."

"His name," Hinata stressed, poking him again, "was William Wallace. Don't you pay attention? Don't answer that. And the West doesn't have any shinobi. As far as they know were just something out of an overrated battle-manga."

"Only 'cause Japan forbade us to leave the continent. Well, that and no foreigners are allowed here. Not like I care... its just nice that luxuries such as Western films are available at such classy places."

Hinata let out a little sigh. "I guess." She was already bored.

* * *

_Two Days, Twenty-Two Hours, Twenty Eight Minutes Earlier_

"They watched a movie?" Hinata cried in disbelief.

Naruto couldn't help snickering. "You're craftier than I thought. Not only did you trick me but you also tricked yourself. Take's real skill to do that. Pity the clone is gone."

She grinned. "Guess so huh?

"Yeah..." Naruto's expression went from playful to serious. "When we get back I'm going to request to have you removed as my partner.

"What?" Hinata was shocked to say the least.

"You broke at least two dozen rules with that stunt you pulled... and I want that jewelry back too..."

"You're joking." Hinata laughed stiffly. "You're joking right?"

"Not in the least."

In the silence Hinata felt the air shift. He was telling the truth.

"You... you... I saved your life!" She half yelled in fury, her face turned red.

"And if you would've let me in on your plan in the first place then I wouldn't have needed saving." He said neutrally.

"Fine! Fuck you!" She shouted. She threw the jewelry boxes angrily at his face. Naruto caught them.

"Thanks. I was going to return them anyway. I just needed your cooperation... oh- and can you keep the dress? I can't give it back and I don't want to carry it." Naruto thanked her sincerely.

"This... this was your plan all along wasn't it?" Hinata said in sudden realization.

"Yup." Naruto gave her one of his trade mark smiles and winked. Suddenly it didn't seem so endearing. Any shred of anything she had felt for him was erased in a heartbeat.

"You... YOU JERK! I didn't tell you so you couldn't claim credit- I wanted to IMPRESS you- to be of USE to you! To PROVE I was strong and be a GOOD PARTNER! Now you'll doom me to my old life... I can't go back to that... my life is in the balance here... please Naruto... please..." Hinata began to breakdown into tears. Her world had fallen apart.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, I do owe you, I guess. Alright, I'll think about it. The mission was a success after all."

"Is that stupid success rate the only thing you care about? When's the last time you felt an emotion Naruto? Guilt? Sadness? Hatred? When's the last time you felt anything at all? TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK-"

He slapped her. "Hinata, you're hysterical."

"AND NOW I'M HYSTERICAL AND IN PAIN! FUCK YOU!" She screamed for all she was worth, sobbing bitterly between breaths. "How can you only care about numbers... is that truly all that's left of you Naruto..." She trailed off brokenly.

"Looks like you got me all figured out, Hina-chan."

"If I ever have to see you with that mask on again it'll be too soon, Dark Fox. The boy I knew... the one who made me smile... why I didn't give up... he's as dead as the girl you once knew. Somewhere along the way he lost his heart."

"Fair enough, Night Orchid. Fair enough."

* * *

_One Hour Ago_

When the door closed behind the two Konoha shinobi Shikamaru welcomed the operative in. The one who destroyed his life and made it troublesome. It was time for some serious venting.

"Did it go as planned?"

A man entered the quarters of the Rokudaime. A man considered by many to be the most infamous operative in all of Konaha. Before and after Pain. His single visible eye, stooped posture, and shock of white spikey hair identified him as Hatake Kakashi.

"Hai. Phase one has gone as expected. Phase two will begin in due time." Shikamaru replied.

"Good. Remember Nara-san, time is of the essence." Kakashi said from behind his orange smut book.

"That it is... Shadow Possession Jutsu!" In less than a second the copy nin was rendered immobile and his gaze was forcefully yanked from his book.

"Its that time of the month and Temari isn't putting out for you eh?" He said wisely.

'D-damn him... how does he know these things! Troublesome...' "What does it matter to you Kakashi? I happen to have a three hour rant prepared for tonight."

"Good thing this is a clone." The copy-nin popped out of existence.

Hatake Kakashi. The only man ever to consistently outsmart a Nara.

* * *

_Five Hours Later_

The room was small and cramped, but homey at least. Hinata sighed to herself. It was better than living with her family, but it would be her home for the next year... and that wasn't something to look forward to. ANBU barracks were never designed for luxury. Tiredly, she flopped down onto her cot. She had spent two hours unpacking- her family had helped her move. Or rather, branch members had done it for her.

After a brief snooze she was awakened by a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" She asked drowzily.

"Its me."

Hinata scowled. The one person she never wanted to speak to again and one of six people she couldn't refuse. "What do you want?"

"Just... to talk. There are some things I need to say." Naruto said earnestly.

"Fine."

The man who walked in and sat across from her in her chair was not the one she had seen since the trip back from Wave. Nor was he the same one who had taken her to find a room. This Naruto was different.

"Hinata... I wanted to apologize." He started.

"Really?" Her voice dripped sarcasm.

"Really." He said seriously. His eyes locked on hers. She couldn't escape. "Look... I said some things I really didn't mean okay? I just... I was planning to get rid of you but now- shit this is hard to say. I'm bad at this stuff." He paused and ran his right hand through his hair. "I want you to know that I fought for you to stay as my partner."

"WHAT?" Hinata was outraged. "Naruto- that's the most blatant lie-"

"-really. I'm serious." He cut her off. "Look. We've been back for three days. On the first day I filed the report. On the second day it went to the review and I was asked to come... day three was when Shika had to approve it and... I changed my mind."

Hinata looked at him. Looked hard. "Don't move." She activated her Byakugan, scanning his face for any trace of lies. When she found none she was surprised... and moved. Even though he had been awful to her, somehow he had wanted to help her. Why did all the bad things he did suddenly melt away when he was nice? "Why?"

"Why what?" He asked.

"Why did you change your mind? That you did is not good enough. I have to know the reason Naruto." She said firmly.

He looked around the room, as if trying to find an exit. When his search ended he appeared to have found what he was looking for- it was in his pocket. "Take a look at this."

Hinata did. It was a photograph of Team 7 when they were young genin. Kakashi was leaning over the three of them, Sasuke was looking emo as usual, Sakura was staring at Sasuke, and Naruto was grinning like an idiot. If there was some special significance other than a goofy snapshot she didn't see it.

"So?" She made a gesture with open palms. She didn't understand.

Naruto had difficulty looking her in the face. "I... look- I know what it is to hurt okay? When I was a kid I was alone... my friends brought me back. There was a time when I was going to abandon the village with the Forbidden Scroll remember?" Hinata nodded the affirmative. "Well, Mizuki had basically called me a worthless troublemaker. Iruka stood up for me. It was the first time I had felt genuinely happy in a long time."

"What about ramen?" Hinata remarked dryly. 'There was a lie in there but I can't tell what...'

"Well... there were exceptions." He admitted. "Anyway, Team 7 was really special to me. It kept me feeling alive in side, y'know? After all the trials we went through we still split up after Pain's assault and Madara's death. ANBU tore us apart. The Black Ops. became the only thing I knew. I was... no- am, a recluse. I hate interacting with people, and I don't like having to make decisions that aren't clear orders."

"Naruto..." Hinata wanted to say something. She couldn't think of anything.

"No, let me finish." He said gently. "For four years I have been falling into an abyss of unfeeling. Eventually it was only the next mission. Somehow when you became my partner that was threatened. I wanted to get rid of you. I didn't want anything to change, I was safe in the darkness. You... made me laugh alright? Even if it was only a little, I could feel again. When I thought you died... even if it was only for a minute, I realized why I wanted to get rid of you. Emotions make things harder... and they hurt us. They hurt more than anything, and I wanted to stay numb. Your words about not feeling anything made a small crack, but even they didn't move me. I'm really only a shred of a human being. What little humanity I have left is something I have tried to destroy, but I can't."

"I... made you feel again?" Hinata whispered. Somehow that was magical to her.

"Yes." He said weakly. "Even if all it was was annoyed and mildly amused- but for me that's a lot. Still, I was going to let you go."

Hinata licked her lips in anticipation. This was it. Whatever was at the core of this man, what caused the change... his wound... she would know.

"The council- they're real bastards. The review took almost no time. It wasn't like I wanted... at first I was happy but... as I heard Hiashi talking about you being weak... and Danzou proposing to demote you to chuunin. Hinata... something snapped in me." His wild eyes attested to his claim. "I don't know what, but somehow there was some small amount of that boy left. He is still in me, somewhere. Back then I hated others telling people what they could expect out of their own life. I hated it more than anything else. I once vowed on your blood to beat Neji- because you did change Hinata. And somehow you changed me in Wave... if only a little bit."

Hinata had difficulty remaining calm. "Y-you ch-changed me t-too, Naruto-kun. The way you n-never gave up. I always w-wanted to b-be like you."

"Yeah..." Naruto trailed off. "It made me angry. Something I haven't felt in four years. Somehow during the fight with Pain I got so furious it nearly consumed me. I've never lost my temper since- until now. Its as if something inside me was crying out too loud for me to ignore it. They were going to make you a chuunin and force you to marry within the month! I got so mad." Naruto's voice trembled. "My request was just one of the papers they had filed... but they all required me to reject you as my partner. So they pressured me. They said it was for Konoha... and..." The stone that was Uzumaki Naruto shattered. He was yelling. "Hinata- I didn't care! It was never the success rate, but what it represented, Hinata- my loyalties... if anything I must serve the village that is responsible for my friends' happiness, even if I can't find it myself. It all came down to my signature... and I actually signed it! I was horrible... I haven't s-slept..."

Naruto lost his composure and looked away for a minute, breathing slightly irregularly. Hinata touched his hand. It seemed to give him strength, so he held it. He still couldn't look at her.

"Shikamaru gave me a last chance. Every inch of me wanted to do it, to get rid of you... but I couldn't Hinata. Damn it! I couldn't... I wanted to be selfish for once... even if you did screw up..." When he looked at her there were tears in his eyes. "I want to feel again, Hinata. I want to live. You're somehow a part of that. I... need you."

"Y-you n-need m-m-me?" She gasped.

"Yeah..." His voice sounded like he was being strangled. Naruto looked her straight in the eyes.

"G-g-guess th-that the b-boy is s-s-still th-there... huh?" She managed. His eyes were drawing her in again.

"Y-yeah. Guess that the girl is still there too- you're stuttering." He spoke softly, though his voice was horse.

"Sh-shut up s-stupid."

She couldn't breathe. They were falling into each other. She fell forward off the bed and he caught her. When she raised her head her eyes came level with his. She was lost. She couldn't stop staring at his lips for some reason. He was so close, she could feel the life of him. Smell the sweetness of his breath.

"H-hi-na-t-ta." Naruto could barely form syllables. 'Wh-what the fuck! Its happening again! I can't control my body! No! No! STOP!'

She was getting closer. He could smell the sweet scent of lavender, vanilla and cinnamon. Her eyes were locked on his... those silvery pools had some force over him. He couldn't look away. Their faces were so close. He could feel her body against his. Why did it almost seem to make the blood in his veins sing? 'K-kami... wh-what is this?'

Their lips drew inexorably closer. Six inches.. five inches... four inches... three inches.. two inches... an inch... a centimeter.

'Oh K-k-k-k-k-kami-sama! H-h-h-h-he's g-g-gonna k-k-kiss me... why... can't I move... why am I not resisting? No! This can't happen! I can't love him! I can't love anyone- it'll kill me to love again! I vowed... STOP!'

Naruto was so close to kissing her he could almost taste her. The anticipation made him feel like the world was spinning and wouldn't stop. He didn't want it to stop.

At that moment both shinobi shared the same thought.

'This feeling... its nice.'

Knock! Knock!

"Oi- Naruto-dobe! You in there? I was told you came down here! How was your mission? Wanna go get some drinks?" Sasuke's voice destroyed the moment.

It was like a bucket of cold water. Both black ops. nin backed off immediately, greatly relieved for the interruption.

"Yeah, sure." Naruto gave Hinata a last look as he stiffly opened the door and shut it behind him.

"Naruto... what fate awaits us down the road? What does ANBU have in store for us?" She said out loud after they had left.

Whatever it was they were both scared. But they were going to find out. They were shinobi of Konoha.

They were ANBU.

* * *

**END OF PART I**

* * *

**...  
**

It was cold.

White plumes of condensation glittered in the morning sun. The sound of snow crunching under his feet was music to his ears. He hummed off-key to the tune of some little ditty he didn't know the name of and smiled to himself. That the tundra before him stretched for endless miles did nothing to dampen his spirits. It simply meant he had longer to enjoy the simple peace of nature's purity.

There was an end of course. He just had a long way to go. Maybe not as far as he had already come, but it was still a considerable distance.

It gave him time to think back on his life. Who he had been and what he had become were two different things. Everything was a cycle and one day he would return to the land of the living. Everyone would be there, smiling at his return. Or maybe they would return to him? He wasn't exactly sure which way it would work.

His masters had beckoned. The world would be born anew.


	10. Montage and a Mission

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

+Uchiha Sasuke +

+Age: 19 +

+Sex: Male +

+Height: 6' 1" +

+Weight: 145 lbs. +

+Rank: Jonin Black ops.+

+Allegiance: Konoha +

+Notes: Emphasis on ninjutsu and kekke genkai. Low physical durability. +

* * *

Konoha's Blue Hawk stood on the balcony of the apartment he shared with Konoha's White Tigress. The breeze was cool. Then again, Konoha in fall would be having odd weather if it weren't so at 0200 hours. He was awoken by a disturbing dream that had been recurring as of late.

It was a near exact copy of what had happened between his wife and him seven years ago with a single difference. The two in the scene were Dark Fox and Night Orchid.

"You're annoying." The words echoed through his head.

It was still true she was a pain, but it had been more painful to try and resist her. In the end he was happy he had given in... or some reasonable facsimile of happy anyway. At first he had hated it. Now he found himself treasuring the moments he got away from his hectic life. The times when they just had each other. She was his anchor of sorts, and he was her reason for living... or so she had told him. He had never truly believed she loved him. Never say a fangirl's obsession can't become love. This he had concluded after sixth months of marriage.

He loved her, he supposed, though it wasn't nearly as passionate as her's for him. He never had considered himself a romantic. The day he realized he looked forward to seeing her at home, in his bed, in his arms, watching T.V... anything, was the day he realized he had fallen. Somehow she had chipped away at the stone that was his heart and found something living beneath it. Then again he couldn't describe his positive feelings as any more than strong affection. Of course what he did feel for her was probably the strongest emotion in his current life, so in the end what did it matter? He loved her and that was that.

His dark eyes turned to gaze at her naked form, half covered by the sheets of their queen sized bed. She was beautiful- he had decided that after a year of sharing a bed. She had developed and matured into a woman any man would be happy to get intimate with, that was a given. It had simply taken him a while to get past all of the things about her that annoyed him to fully realize her physical beauty- and realized it he had.

Every night that they were both home they made love, with the exception neither were badly injured of course. Cracked ribs didn't count. That was what she had told him this night. Despite his bandages she had easily enticed him... how did she do that? Before she had to fully dedicate herself to the task. Now a touch, a kiss, a breathy whisper in his ear, was enough to arouse his want for her.

'How far I have fallen...' He thought sarcastically. 'If this is hell then I'm glad I never sought redemption.'

The moonlight played over the smooth skin of her midriff, the silky pink curls just above her sex, and the reddened peak of the single nipple that wasn't covered by the cotton comforter. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful. Her shoulder length hair, something she had been allowed to have since becoming the head of the hospital, was a tangled mess of pink strands. Singular hairs stuck out at all angles and the shorter locks of her bangs were plastered to her head. Sweat and a tinge of pretty pink still graced her face. He loved how she looked after they had one of their couplings.

Gently, quietly, he moved to get back into bed with her. To share the warmth that he had come to miss when he took extended missions. He brushed a stray lock back behind her ear and kissed her forehead. He had never understood why people criticized it. When her face shape had changed in later adolescence it had become proportionate. He found it funny how complimenting her forehead was a sure way for extra sex.

She moaned softly and parted her lips, forming the syllables of his name. When he drew her close her eyes fluttered open sleepily. A level of alertness became apparent in her green orbs and she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Up again, anata?" She asked softly, stroking his cheek.

"Hai, aisai. That dream again." He replied.

She nodded slightly. "Naruto-kun. You're always getting worried over him."

"He's been acting differently for a while, Sakura. Since he returned from that first mission two months ago." His tone was only mildly concerned to the passerby, deeply troubled for Sasuke.

"He has a partner now. Its natural she might change his temperament a bit." Sakura soothed.

He let out an irritated sigh. "You wouldn't understand. You don't know him like I do- it's a guy thing." He explained.

"Then what's wrong?" Her hand stroked the sensitive flesh of his abdomen. "Has he been acting out?"

"Sakura, Naruto never acts out. You know that. He never displays emotions much and he never appears in public unless he's shopping, drinking, or is on official business. He's been testy lately. He gets riled up easier. Its like he's regressing to his former self."

"Maybe it's a good thing." She offered. "He needs to open up to someone eventually."

"Yeah, maybe. But somehow I have a feeling its not going to be so easy as our relationship is."

Sakura giggled throatily and waggled her hips against him. "You're saying I'm easy, anata? Don't tell me you don't enjoy yourself."

Sasuke snorted, flipping her on top of him. "Your easy only for me." He corrected. "And there's only one being on this earth that I'm capable of getting an erection for, unfortunately. You can have the top, I'm tired. Besides, I love being able to watch you arch your back when you scream my name."

Sakura teased him, sliding back and forth over him and making him pant with anticipation. "Yes, anata," she gasped as she finally gave into her need, "only for you."

* * *

In the middle of the night Naruto awoke in a sneezing fit. 'Ughh... someone must be thinking about me.' He thought. 'Probably Hinata bitching about the extra training we've been doing. She's gonna freak when I tell her we're finished tomorrow.' He rolled over and went back to sleep.

* * *

_**ANBU**_

**Part II**

* * *

Though she wasn't the cause of his sudden hay fever, Hinata was relieved that morning when Naruto arrived at her door.

"Yo!" Naruto said, banging on the door. "Its 0502. Come on you lazy over pampered heiress, get out here!"

"Coming!" The voice carried through the door. Thirty seconds later a sleepy looking Hinata brushed her way past him.

He caught her wrist. "You're two minutes and forty-eight seconds late, Hina-san. What do you have to say for yourself?"

She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Screw you, and can we just get it over with already." She stated tactfully.

Despite the standard speech on punctuality he had planned on to giving her, Naruto couldn't help but grin. "Actually I have some good news for you. I think our teamwork has finally come to meet my expectations."

Hinata's eyes widened for only an instant. He did this often, then made them train anyway. Sure she was in the best shape of her life, but she needed sleep damnit! Hinata had to spy on him to confirm that Naruto ever slept at all. The man couldn't have been human with his energy and spotty rest periods.

For all that they had progressed significantly. She had noticed within the first week how she could read him better, and he her. They spent four hours each morning practicing in the training grounds, taking whichever one wasn't occupied by a genin team. Now they could practically read each other's minds when it concerned ANBU work. On one mission they had both though four moves ahead and coordinated perfectly to take out a trio of jonin. That had been a fun one.

Their latest triumph was an arsenal combination attacks. Hinata found that if she did it right she could actually reflect his rasenshuriken with her kaiten- a very useful trick, though one they hadn't used in combat yet. They had other combination taijutsu and ninjutsu too, though they were more basic (by their standards anyway) and far more numerous as well as practical, conserving chakra and producing a wide array of different attacks, defenses and utilities.

The only snag they had run into had been Hinata's stamina. Grueling physical training had helped improve how long she could last using taijutsu, but her chakra control still couldn't make up for the seemingly endless reservoir of chakra her partner possessed. Over the past four years she had improved her clan techniques greatly, including the Byakugan, and could even measure the exact amount of chakra needed to create a jutsu, thereby arriving at efficiency percentages. It made little to no sense.

If she had to pick four examples they would be Kiba, Naruto, herself, and Kakashi. They each represented different levels. Kiba was physical and used soldier pills. His average control put him around 62.4% efficiency- awful even by genin standards. Fortunately he didn't use many ninjutsu. Naruto was better, about five points above the bare minimum expected of a jonin at 86.2% efficiency. Hinata herself was considered among the best, with a spectacular score of 98.7% efficiency. Kakashi, she had concluded, wasn't human. She had to run the numbers a dozen times before she was convinced she hadn't made it up. The copy-nin had 99.9% efficiency. Despite his high powered ninjutsu and constant sharingan abuse he could outlast most. His chakra reserves must have been considered bad even for a chuunin. Laziness was indeed his vice.

It had taken some convincing, but she had finally gotten it into Naruto's head that she simply couldn't improve her control by enough to make a difference and that her reserves were as big as they were going to get.

Then he had surprised her.

Two weeks ago he had arrived at her door with a box. Inside were what appeared to be a standard hitai-ate, ANBU shin guards and forearm guards.

"What's this?" She had asked.

"The metal is special. You put chakra into it and it holds it with a very low rate of degradation. In other words they're batteries. You can charge them with your own chakra, then call on them later when you're running low." He said casually.

"Naruto... those must have cost you a hundred thousand ryo!" She exclaimed.

He scratched the back of his head. "Hundred and twenty actually. Look, its no big deal. My inheritance is many times that in the double digits. Besides, Tenten gave me 40% off because I told her they were a birthday present."

She was torn between scowling and hugging him. "That's a bit lacking in spontaneity for you, Naruto."

"Yeah, I think she knew. But if she did, she didn't care... though she did say something strange. She said something about finally realizing that you could walk on water... you know what that's about?" He questioned, clearly puzzled by the riddle.

"Uhhh... no." She lied badly. Fortunately Naruto was awful at telling when she lied. Others couldn't get away with squat. "Well... thanks doesn't even cover it. These will probably increase my reserves by over 10%."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "These are custom made by Tenten. The highest quality possible. Check."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and gasped in surprise. "With these... 40%... no 44.3%... that's incredible! This will almost increase my reserves by half! I'll have ten more minutes of intensive combat with these."

Naruto smirked. "Told ya. Just only use them in a pinch when we're in the field. For now use them when you run low in training so you don't get tired and so you're used to them. Enough chat- lets get to it."

In the last two weeks she had found a way to compress her chakra, giving her about twelve minutes instead of the ten minutes fourteen seconds she had previously... about 49.4%. With the technique perfected she was sure she would pass fifty eventually. There was no way Naruto could be satisfied with what they had accomplished- he would never be, it was how he was.

"Well don't just stand there. Come on- I want to be the first to pound on Shika's door and ruin his day. The best missions are always available in the morning." He waved his hand in front of her, snapping her out of her daydreaming.

"Yeah... ok."

* * *

The way to the Hokage tower took only four minutes. During that time Hinata tried to decipher if Naruto had an ulterior motive. Since the incident in the barracks two months earlier they had never gotten close again. Naruto had stayed aloof best he could, and she had no trouble matching him. Romance and ANBU didn't mix, they both knew that- even if they wouldn't admit it. Plus, if they got romantically involved they would have to switch partners. It wasn't allowed, contrary to what Naruto had once told her the first time she got smashed.

'Thank Kami he didn't ask me about that when I was drunk... 'You saw me dancing naked when we were twelve and said that I was 'uber pretty' and 'the kind of girl I'd want to marry!' I'm sure that'd go over great. Then again, I'd have to have more than a few to let that slip... that's right up there with me purposely destroying your clothes during training and what you think are subtle gropes to my body when we grapple.' Hinata had had one too many a distrubing dream when a half stripped Naruto glistening with sweat did a little more than grope. From the way he looked at her she even considered he might have had a string of lust for her as well. Not like she cared. She just dismissed her fancies as baggage. It was easy once you got good at it.

She had gotten better at drinking too. She could finally hold her own round for round with most of the other Konoha kunoichi. Even Anko had complimented her tolerance. Of course next to the men she was only a middle weight, but she was a woman after all. Alcohol-dehydrogenate just didn't bless her liver the way it did them- particularly Kakishi and Naruto. She had never seen two shinobi drink so much and still be able to stand. Genma's was almost a nightly event for the two of them, and the copy-nin frequented enough for her to see him consume ungodly amounts of fermented liquids and still walk home quietly. The only times he lost it was when someone brought up his spouse, and then it was likely just for the attention.

All in all things were good. She had moved away from her clan and her father, she was getting stronger and more valuable to Konoha by the day, and even Naruto was becoming tolerable. She almost enjoyed his company every now and then. From the way he acted around her she was sure he felt the same. Denial was a common thing- and both were very good at it. Of course 'ignoring trivial matters' was a much nicer way of phrasing it in one's head.

The double doors to the Hokage's office swung open, interrupting her thoughts. Shikamaru sat behind his desk, reclined in his chair looking lazy and smoking his pipe as usual.

"Just who I want to see at 0520." He drawled sarcastically. His hand reached into a stack of scrolls.

"Got anything for us, Shika-san?" Naruto asked dryly.

"For destroying my peace so early? Hmmmmm..." He closed his eyes and picked a scroll at random. He proceeded to open it and scroll down the list. After he was about halfway he stopped and opened his eyes. "Sucks for you. B rank. A scroll recovery."

Hinata's heart dropped. Those were often the most boring. "Seriously?"

"There was no way that was random." Naruto dead-panned.

The Rokudaime smiled. "Ah, but you know me too well, Naruto. Indeed it was not. Normally I would give you at least an A or a B with high pay... but this is actually important for you."

The Kyuubi container had the faintest idea of what he was hinting at. "And?"

"And if you complete it then I'll be able to Name you."

Naruto's eyes widened in excitement. "Seriously? We're going to get a Name? No way! So early!"

"Technically it was luck. You and Hyuuga-sama here happen to have hit the jackpot in your skill balance. On top of that the different missions you completed as chuunin and jonin counted towards some of them... and you're both part of the Rookie Nine. The review is always jumping to give you guys credit where it isn't deserved." The last was said with a taunting smile.

Hinata groaned inwardly. She was about to be witness to another pissing contest if she didn't do anything about it. "What's a Name?" She asked. For once she had both a good excuse and genuinely didn't know the terminology.

"A Name," Shikamaru began. "... is something your partner should tell you about."

Naruto supressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Ughhh... its kinda like our code names, except it refers to the two of us. For example: Dragon Name. That's Neji's and Shino's callsign I believe."

Shikamaru blew out a puff of smoke. "Yes, but its much more than that, dobe. A Name indicates that you are elite... even among the ANBU ranks. Your team can be called on at any time... as long as the mission is within your specialty."

"Wait." Hinata said, shaking her head. "You mean we're going to be narrowed down to a specific branch of operations? That's lame."

"Hinata that's very rude." Naruto chastised. "Insufferably boring is far more accurate."

"Ahem." Shikamaru cleared his throat loudly. "Yes. Assault: precisely what it sounds like. Combat oriented missions of a more direct nature. Espionage: spying, stealing, scouting and sabotaging basically. Interrogation: capturing and torturing etc. Disposal: assassination... getting rid of anything we don't like really. Lastly there's Protection: guarding important documents and figures, specializing in defensive jutsu and healing-"

"Blah, blah, blah! Whatever Shika. Just tell us what our prefix is." Naruto half yelled.

"Prefix?" Hinata inquired.

"Prefix." Shikamaru confirmed. "Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning and Earth respectively... Assault, Espionage, Interrogation, Disposal and Protection... but Naruto interrupted my list. There's one more."

"There is?" If Naruto didn't no it then it had to be big.

"Yes. There are a maximum of two at any time in Konoha's service. A slot recently opened because there was an... accident on a mission. I won't tell you the details. It's a secret, but you two are up for it. They were considering Blue Hawk and Red Beast of Lion Name but-"

"Sasuke-teme and Kiba-kun? What the hell is it-"

"And if you'd stop interrupting me I'd tell you." Shikamaru straightened his hat. "The last category is the highest honor any Name can achieve. Its not a singular specialization per se... only they can take on any type of A or S rank mission regardless of their talents." He said quietly. "The category is called Special... a little childish, I know, but I don't make the rules. The prefix is Shadow... essentially the 'shadows' as they are called, are the Kage's right hand... the shadow's of the shadows if you follow. You would have this title."

Naruto snapped his fingers, as if arriving at a revelation. "So that's why Grey Owl always bragged to me about his and Swift Drake's team... Shadow Wolf."

Hinata, completely in the dark, made a face. "Who... and why the all the colors? Did we break a code or something when we got our codenames?"

"No." Naruto chuckled. "We're just more creative... and Kakashi-sensei has a poor sense of humor. Speaking of which, those two are Kakashi and Yamato, respectively."

"Ah. Makes sense." Hinata knew that the pair were the most famous ANBU duo in recent history.

"As I was saying," Shikamaru started once more, "complete this mission and you'll have fulfilled all the requirements. The document you will be recovering is an inventory of Konoha shipping records going back the past few years. Not vitally important, but suspicious. Also, its being held inside the castle of an independent lord who's on the paranoid side. I don't want any kills. This is a clean one. You can't be discovered. He controls routes between here and Tea Country... and you know how fond I am of mint tobacco. You have three days." He handed them the details in a small file folder. The two ANBU bowed and exited the Hokage tower, both eager to get it over with. Greater things lay ahead.

Another mission, another day.


	11. Close Encounters

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"So what do you think?"

"Shika was right. This guy is paranoid. I can understand the castle, the walls, even building it into a cliff, but three score of guards? There's a patrol in almost every room."

The castle was built upon the side of a cliff a good two hundred feet up. The narrow canyon was a gauntlet for any who tried to trade without Lord Omada's approval. A winding road cut into the cliffside and led up to the plateau. Palisade walls at the top made the bastion a formidable stronghold. Getting in was going to be hard enough. Once they were inside they were inside the true challenge would begin.

"Almost every room." Hinata corrected. "With my Byakugan we should be able to avoid them. If not, I'm sure we'll think of a plan B."

Naruto had learned early on in their partnership that Hinata's eyes were an extremely useful utility. In battle she could kill a man with a touch. To be able to sneak up on Hinata one would have to catch her asleep, drugged, and drained of all chakra (this he knew from experience.) In covert operations she could slip between shadows only using trace chakra, making even the greatest tracker pressed to catch her. Now that he'd worked with her for two months he often wondered how he'd ever managed before. With Hinata using her Byakugan the infiltration part of missions went at least three times faster while improving his previous stealth.

He grinned. "Winging it is half the fun, eh Hina-san?"

The Hyuuga heiress smiled back deviously. "Hai, Naruto-kun."

Naruto had worked to improve his own character over the last four years, weeding out bad habits and enforcing discipline, but patience had never been his strong point.

He hated waiting.

* * *

There was no moon that night. The silhouettes of Dark Fox and Night Orchid played against the shear walls of rock they scaled. Any ordinary man or woman would have been daunted by such a task. Without advanced chakra manipulation, walking straight up was rather difficult. For these two it was just another idle day at work. When they reached the top they took cover behind a medium sized boulder to slow their breathing.

'And the world gets crazier every day.' Naruto thought wryly. 'I used to scream about having fair fights. Now I cringe whenever I step on a brittle leaf. How I lived through those days I'll never know.'

In complete silence the pair made their way over to a small depression that contained a thick set of shrubs. Underneath was a small rusted disk of metal just large enough to allow a man through it. Naruto pulled it deftly aside and revealed the secret entrance below. Hinata's Byakugan had located an escape tunnel for them that would lead somewhere into the castle. Once they got in it would be up to her to help them avoid the guards.

There was no light. In absolute darkness they felt their way through the narrow passageway. At times it curved and became steep, going up more often than not. After what Naruto judged to be around ten minutes Hinata touched his arm. One firm grip, three brushes of one finger and two taps followed by a mild pull.

'Alright. So the exit's about twenty yards from here. We're on the third floor. The patrols are near so I wait for her signal. We need to get to the fifth floor though.' The touch language of the ANBU was vital for missions done in darkness and silence. Hand signs were the most commonly used form of silent communication, but when one couldn't see or talk touching tended to be the most practical.

Taps indicated space. Specifically ten yards. A tap with a fingernail meant only a foot. A brush communicated area. If they were working in sectors it would be 'A,B'C,', but in this case it was only floors. A firm grip meant near certainty, moderate confident, and soft only so-so. A pull indicated danger. The stronger the pull the stronger the danger. Hinata's eyes likely saw only a few guards.

They switched positions and she took point, leading him by the hand through the darkness. Half a minute later they stopped and Hinata waited.

He hated waiting.

Several minutes later she tapped against something on the wall and a large portrait swung open and led them into the seemingly blinding light of the corridor.

"We can speak now." Hinata said quietly.

Naruto nodded. "Just show me the standard outfit."

"Hai. Henge!"

Her gear was altered to mimic that of one of the guards. With any luck they would be able to pass themselves off if they got cornered. Steel plates served as shoulder pads and a traditional samurai suit of armor with a helmet and greaves were included. A katana was strapped to her waist.

Naruto transformed into his own parody. His mouth had not moved, nor had his hands.

"You can do silent snap jutsu?" Hinata asked curiously.

In ANBU 'silent snap' was slang for a jutsu that one could perform both instantaneously and without any verbal or visual component.

He gave her a long glance. "Of course. If we don't screw this one up, I'll teach you. You can do it with almost any jutsu. Its just the amount of time you're willing to spend."

She turned her nose up to him. "I already know how to do them. It's just usually not worth the chakra- with my reserves anyway. I still can't figure out where you get it from."

Naruto shrugged in his usual dismissive way. "Let's go."

They made their way up a staircase down the hall and around the corner, proceeding to the fifth floor with no problems. They had to pause several times in their advance in order to dodge patrols once they got near the treasury. Finally they were left with the permanent guard in front of the door- a contingent of four heavily armed men.

"Hey, what's this?" Their leader, a squat but thickly muscled man, asked coarsely. "You new?"

Naruto had already told Hinata he would do the talking. "Yes. We were hired as extra precaution. Lord Omada fears that treachery may be afoot. He is calling all of his most loyal servants to him now. We were given orders to guard the treasury while you reported to his side."

Behind him Hinata discreetly began to form hand signs.

"That so?" The man spat. "Well I aint heard nothing 'bout that. Lord Omada woulda' told us."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You calling me a liar?"

"No. I'm calling you a... uh... ahhhhhh..."

As he trailed off the rest collapsed on the floor along with him.

"Got the stuff?" Naruto turned back to his partner.

"Yup." Hinata winked. "One drunken guard contingent sleeping off a bender."

Several bottles of hard sake appeared out of a sealed scroll. Using a funnel she poured enough for each man to be drunk enough not even to remember their encounter with the two. As insurance she hit tenketsu upon the base of their skulls to help provoke short-term memory loss. A useful trick to have for an ANBU operative.

Naruto looked at their work with a critical eye, then snickered.

"What?" Hinata questioned. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Naruto assured with a wide grin. "It just reminds me of my days as a prankster. You know."

"Ah," she smiled back, "of course. Looks like I'm your accomplice now too."

"Accomplice? You were the one who doused them in sake." He pointed out the flaw in her reasoning.

Hinata rolled her eyes. "It was your plan to begin with."

"You're right. I am a genius, aren't I?"

Before she could open her mouth to retort he had already opened the door to the treasury and zipped inside. The Hyuuga heiress just shook her head and laughed lightly before following him in.

The treasury wasn't all that impressive. It did contain a great deal of money. On the other hand, what Naruto had imagined was a room stacked with gold and jewels and small wonders of every sort. Massive amounts of paper marks wasn't his idea of interesting. Then again, it made his job much easier.

"Found it." Hinata had already made her way to the other side of the room and was holding the box in the air like a trophy.

Then again, with Hinata, his job was always much easier.

"Good." He tossed her an identical copy.

She nodded and put it in its place. The scroll was unsealed and a perfect parody of the box appeared. The only minor difference was that all of the text in the replacement would run together as if it had suffered water damage. Fortunately that was easy enough to back up.

The veins around the indigo haired ANBU's eyes bulged and she took a low stance. With lightning speed she sent a burst of chakra through the stone directly above the table upon which the box sat. The tiny hole obediently supplied a slow drip of water.

"Looks like you were right about the piping system." Naruto made a casual gesture. "Y'know, this is not at all what I expected."

"The mission?"

"No, the treasury. Its bland." There was an honest note of disappointment in his voice.

"Well, maybe some day I'll take you to see the Hyuuga royal treasury. It's nothing grand, but they do dress it up to make it look fantastic. That way no one will ever know when we finally go bankrupt." She gave him a small smile.

"I don't know what's funnier: picturing myself in the Hyuuga treasury surrounded by a bunch of shinobi aristocrats about to Jyuken me half way to Suna, or your father begging on the street for scraps."

Her smile withered. "I'm not joking."

"Gomen... I may have spoken out of turn." Naruto apologized quickly.

"No need. Shall we go?"

His departure from the room was all she needed to know his answer. In the space of several heartbeats she had caught up with him and was heading down the stairs to the fourth level. When they rounded the last few steps and came out onto the third, Hinata grabbed him.

"Patrol. Fifty feet. We need to hide." She whispered urgently. "Door on your left."

Naruto nodded calmly, inwardly cursing himself for his haste. In moments they had both gone through the door and into what appeared to be an art gallery. Various paintings of likely priceless values were hung upon every wall. Pedestals held sculptures and old books of poetry. The lighting was extremely dim, giving the green themed room an eerie feel.

Noises began to grow louder outside the door. Eventually they could make out voices.

"The treasury guard were found napping so we have to check every room in the castle for thieves! Lord Omada is certainly an interesting customer." One said.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know. What does our resident shinobi have to say on the matter?" Another questioned mockingly.

"A former chuunin only, sir."

Naruto's eyes locked on Hinata's with great intensity. 'They're going to come in here, and unless we do something that chuunin will notice something is off.' He signed.

Hinata nodded. 'Any ideas?' She signed back.

Naruto shook his head. 'Only one. Hiding in plain sight. Not by the book. Come here.'

The Hyuuga heiress obediently walked up right next to her partner, who was leaning against the far wall. When she was in range he took her hand and swung her around, placing her back against the stone. He moved closer so his body shielded hers. His arms wrapped around her and pressed her close against him. Hinata struggled for only a moment before she understood the nature of his tactic. She swiftly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face close.

Despite the tense nature of their situation Naruto couldn't help but have mixed feelings. On one hand it was his fault that they were about to do what they had to do, on the other hand he didn't mind all that much... but Hinata. 'She's staring right through me. Those eyes. What is it about her eyes? Every time we get too close like this I feel strange.'

Said shinobi was doing her best to control her breathing, but the blush on her cheeks was visible. Her face felt embarrassingly hot and no matter how she tried she couldn't tear her gaze from his eyes. The bright blue depths were bold and intimidating. Yet, behind them was a tenderness she knew existed somewhere. He was a difficult man to be close to in every sense of the word. Still, she was drawn to him somehow.

When he finally leaned forward and kissed her, her half lidded eyes opened wide-awake. The shock of it was greater than she had anticipated. She had barely remembered the kiss of over two months ago when she was drunk. That was her first kiss- she never had been close to boys... men. Now that she felt the firm softness of his lips on hers, the wet hot feeling that made her head spin, she wondered at exactly how ignorant she was. Tenten and Sakura always extolled their encounters with their partners to her. She had thought them liars when they said that kissing the one you loved was like embracing fire. She knew differently now. She closed her eyes. 'Though they're wrong about the love part.' She thought absently, pressing harder.

Her pressure elicited the smallest of groans from Naruto. It was difficult to tell if he was just acting, or actually being vocal. Her body against his felt wildly erotic. The fullness of her lips and the softness of her curves were all together more pleasant than he had imagined. He wasn't technically a never been kissed. 'But I feel like I was until now...'

The sound of the door opening behind them didn't interrupt their intimate embrace. Hinata crushed him to her, using one arm to grind his pelvis into hers. The electricity that had caught hold of them intensified and the female ANBU stifled a gasp. The slight opening of her mouth gave Naruto the opportunity to press the kiss even deeper. By reflex she shut again, but the tiny nips at her lips made her give in seconds later. His tongue came to meet hers in a tangle of desire, exploring hungrily at something he had yet to discover. The kiss was deep and passionate, and in their embrace each could feel the raw want of the other, and the fascinating feeling of flesh pressed against flesh... even if it was through a layer or two of gear. But it was going too far...

Naruto pulled back ever so slightly, breaking the connection. The heat of her body was intoxicating. "H-Hina..." He managed raggedly.

Her eyes fluttered open. She was completely dazed. "N-Naru-" She cut herself off, unable to resist the pull of his body. She kissed him this time, soft first, then deeper than before. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she felt as though she might explode for lack of release from the energy coursing through her. The objectivity of the tactic was lost to both of them now, or very nearly. What did it matter anyway? She could die like this, suffocating in the most intense moment of her life. His kiss was ecstasy.

"You there!" A loud voice cut through their bout, sobering the intoxicated operatives, who jumped apart instantly. "You're not supposed to be in here! Go get friendly somewhere else!"

Naruto turned around, startled. "G-gomen. W-we didn't know."

The single shinobi in the group gave them the once over. "Its fine... and with her I can understand how it would be easy to forget yourself."

Hinata blushed furiously. "Arigato..."

Naruto took her by the arm and led her past the guards. The men leered unabashedly at his partner. A smoldering feeling of possessiveness overcame him and he glared at them. Fortunately they didn't make anything of it and just hooted at the pair as they rounded the corner at the end of the hall. The second they were out of sight both shinobi broke into a run, halting in front of the portrait. Hinata worked furiously to move it aside as footsteps were heard coming from another direction. The picture popped loose and they both disappeared into the darkness, closing the portal behind them.

Less than a minute later Naruto used touch to signal a stop. Both were panting heavily, and both knew it wasn't from the run.

"Well," Hinata attempted humor, "that certainly wasn't by the book."

Naruto coughed. "Yeah, believe it or not Kakashi-sensei taught me that one... said 'when all else fails grab the nearest girl and kiss her silly.' Guess he was right."

"Guess so huh?" The stiff exchange petered off into silence.

Finally Naruto spoke. "We never speak of this to anyone. It didn't happen. The mission ran smoothly. Just forget it."

"Yes, I think that would be best." She agreed. "It never happened... and it will never happen again."

Naruto couldn't have said it better himself. "No, no it won't."


	12. The Good, the Bad, and the Crafty

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

They were twenty miles from Konoha when Hinata collapsed.

"Can't... run... anymore..." She desperately gasped for air. Her hair was plastered with sweat and her face was so flushed that the parts that weren't concealed by her ANBU mask were stark red. Rivulets of perspiration ran down her neck and into her armor.

"Che- you're such a wimp." Naruto mocked.

He reached down to give her a hand up. She made it to her feet, though she was more than a little shaky. She had good reason. After they had gotten away with the scroll they had run flat out back to Konoha... so far anyway. Shikamaru had only given them three days to finish their mission and time was running short. In fact...

"We'll never make it... its... too far..." Hinata panted. She really had done her best, but no mere mortal (albeit a demon container) could ever hope to make such a journey. Well, there was Lee and Gai, but who knew what they really were anyway?

Her partner gave her a calculated look from behind his mask. 'She's reached her limit. Looks like its time for another plan B.'

"Come here." He commanded.

"Naruto wha-?"

"Come here." He repeated.

She crossed the scant three feet between them and brushed the dust off of her gear. Her breath betrayed her when Naruto swept her off her feet. Literally.

"You're going to carry me." She remarked in a rueful monotone. "Great."

"Just shut up." He grunted.

Chakra gathered around his feet as he prepared to take off again. Seconds later they were bounding through the trees, racing to beat the clock. When Shikamaru said three days he meant it. Fifty six minutes to midnight with twenty miles to go was no easy feat.

'How can he still keep going? Its just not natural... maybe...' She activated her Byakugan and monitored his chakra coils closely. 'Strange... no nature chakra. Wait- what's that?' Another source, a dim flicker of red, was beginning to appear. It was very faint, but it was clear it was boosting his system. As the hour progressed it became more prominent. Eventually every part of his network contained at least a trace amount of the inner power. 'I wonder what it is? Could this be why he never gets tired? I'll have to ask him in front of Shikamaru.'

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in his arms. It could've been twenty minutes or a day. When he held her time didn't quite work the same. 'This is getting kind of weird.' Her thoughts lingered halfway between their estranged partnership and the strength of his arms. One thing she was sure of though; he would never drop her.

"Hang on." Naruto strained the words between gritted teeth.

A sudden burst of power sent them flying through the air and above Konoha's walls. The buildings blurred as Naruto took them the final leg of the journey. Just before they got to the Hokage Tower he set her down.

"Don't mention it." The blonde gave her a condescending pat on the head.

Hinata gave him a dirty look. "I didn't thank you." A poke to his side furthered her point.

He grinned. "But you should."

"You're awful."

She didn't really mean the words and he knew it. Half of the words that ever went between them were banter. Together they made their way up to Shikamaru's office. Little had changed in the years succeeding Danzou's government as far as the Hokage Tower was concerned. It had been one of the few major structures left mostly intact after the battle. There was some new wood flooring sure, some different decor on behalf of the alliance between Suna and Konoha (made permanent by the Hokage's marriage to the Kazekage's only sister), but all in all it was the same boring old place.

Naruto gave a slight nod to the two guards just outside of the Hokage's quarters. They were always putting the same boring superfluous chuunin too, or at least they all looked the same. Naruto couldn't really tell anymore. Neither could Hinata, and she made a conscious effort to know most of the staff. She gave her own version of polite acknowledgment- a glare that would make most men blanch.

In fact, these two did. "H-Hokage-s-sama is expecting y-you." The one on the right managed. The other kept his mouth shut and looked like he would faint.

She led the way into the waiting room and paused for a moment, turning to her partner. "You'd think they'd never seen a pair of ANBU before."

Her companion scratched at his chin, only half listening. "Yeah, or they just know not to mess with an heiress and a demon. Looks like that stuttering of yours is infectious."

"When was the last time I stuttered?"

"Hell if I know."

"Whatever," she changed the topic," Demon? Hardly. I've seen flowers that were more intimidating."

Naruto flinched. 'That was stupid. How to make her forget it? Hmmm... "Actually I once knew a clan of shinobi that used flowers for their ninpou."

"Really?" Hinata asked in a voice all too eager. "Did Ino slip you a fast one during psyche evaluation or something?"

"I wouldn't put it past her, but no. Speaking of which, they're coming up in a few months I think."

She gave him her smile, her special smile. The one that she only shared with him. The corners of her mouth raised just the slightest bit and her eyes shone with a playful gleam. "We're doomed huh?"

"Probably," he made a show of unleashing a considerable amount of killing intent, "always fun to answer the ink blot questions. Fluffy bunnies and all that."

Hinata matched him and crossed her arms for extra effect. "If you're going to try and show off at least use more than a tenth of what you're capable of."

The killing intent the two were generating might have been trivial by their standards, but it was enough to upset lesser beings. Nervous murmurs were heard outside the door and they shared a look.

"We should go."

"Mhmmm."

They found the Hokage asleep at his post. The vein in Hinata's temple was visibly pulsing as she removed her mask. 'Why that lazy sonovah...'

"Expecting us my ass." Naruto jeered. "Look at him. Ughhh.. Its you're turn to wake him up."

He turned to her expectantly. It was a game they played often. The Rokudame had the bad habit of constantly napping, examining the clouds, or sometimes claiming to be reading the 'history within the wood grains' of his desk. Occasionally he would have a good excuse, but Naruto had shared his theory with Hinata that the Hokage and the Copy-ninja were in constant competition for worst liar. She had agreed with utmost sincerity that four black cats in a week was a stretch by anyone's standards.

"Shikamaru... Hokage-sama... hmmmm... Temari found your secret stash of ero-novels..."

The Rokudaime jumped four feet into the air. "WHAT? Oh... crap. Yo."

The shadow user looked a little the worse for wear. He pulled a cigarette from the folds of his robes and lit it, taking a deep drag. More often than not he preferred his pipe, but when he didn't have the luxury a cancer stick would do. He narrowed his eyes at the duo.

"Two more minutes and you would have failed." He muttered, checking the grandfather clock behind him. "But you didn't. Oh well... how troublesome. How did it go?"

Naruto produced the containment scroll. "How does it always go?"

Shikamaru nodded knowingly. "So you screwed up, but managed to wing it eh?"

"How did you know?" Hinata asked.

"Because that's how it always goes." The Hokage answered smartly. He was about to speak again but something stopped him. His eyes were drawn to Hinata's condition. "You look awful."

"Now, Shika-kun," she began sweetly, "that's no way to talk to a lady."

"Then he's got it covered. Eh, Shika? No ladies here."

A Naruto shaped crater was found two floors down.

"As I was saying: we ran straight back. I barely made it myself. Actually I've been meaning to ask you something. About Naruto... its strange; Shikamaru," her tone was one of cautious curiosity, "why does he never get sick? Its like he's not human or something. The way he just never runs out of energy; he never gets tired for that matter. "

"Who's getting fatter?" Naruto reappeared out of the wreckage below and dusted himself off.

The Hyuuga heiress ignored the Kyuubi container's stupidity. "And is exceedingly resilient to physical damage, not to mention how fast he heals. Its just not natural." She finished.

The Hokage shrugged. "What did you expect? With a skull as thick as his you're nearly impervious to any harm."

"That doesn't explain the rest of his body." She pointed out. "Mind my asking Naru-san?"

"Does it really matter?" Naruto droned in a half whine..

"Not really, no." She admitted. "But I'd still like to know."

Shikamaru watched with obvious amusement from under his hat. "I don't remember giving you clearance to review his medical files."

"I didn't."

"Ah. I'll have to tell Sakura not to be so loose lipped. Then again..." He took another drag again, considering. "You probably blackmailed her, right?"

There was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I taught her the rudimentary basics of the Jyuken. Apparently she needed to redirect chakra flow in order to stimulate certain areas..."

Naruto put his hands behind his head and took a seat, crossing his legs. "So that's how she got him to marry her. Funny," he continued mirthfully, "for the longest time I thought he was gay. He always had a hard on when he was in the showers... guess now I know why. Leave it to Sakura to find a way to both threaten his male pride and make up for her lack of sex appeal in one fell swoop-"

A puff of smoke from Shikamaru's cigarette triggered a coughing fit and stung his eyes, stalling his speech. "I thought you were infatuated with her?" The Rokudaime questioned lightly. He knew this game.

"For a fifteen-year-old anything with two legs, breasts and a hole is something to be infatuated with." Hinata replied evenly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "So she treated me like shit- she was the only girl I saw on a regular basis. Besides, her hair is naturally pink. Who wouldn't be curious if the rest was?"

"It is." She confirmed, sounding bored.

"I know." His comment shocked only Hinata, who gave him a look mixed with betrayal and disgust. "No- I'm not a peeping-tom. Sasuke told me after I won a bet with him... well there was that one time when she got smashed and forgot to pull up her panties after using my toilet but..."

"Ahem." The Hokage made an exaggerated act of clearing his throat. "As fascinating as the color of Sakura's pubic hair is, its 00:10 and I'd like to sneak into bed before the wife comes down to drag me."

"Ex-homicidal jinchuriki in-laws keep you on your toes, don't they Shika?" Naruto slanted the shadow-user with mock-subtlety.

"Somehow I think I'd prefer Gaara over you, Uzumaki-san. At least the Kazekage would be better with kids then you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Sure." He replied. "Interactive sand boxes are a toddlers dream."

The Hokage chuckled at his own humor. The two ANBU before him couldn't help but crack a smile.

"So the mission was a success, yes?" Shikamaru began again.

The two operatives shared a glance. "More or less." Naruto answered.

"Pretty much." Hinata added.

The Hokage looked torn between asking about the details and just getting it over with. He decided on the latter. "As much as I'd like to know what you two are so keen on hiding- you always have that look in your eyes when you lie Naruto, I have better things to do."

"Such as?" The Kyuubi container challenged.

"Give you your Name and prefix." Shikamaru offered. "Since you did complete this mission it means I can give it to you right now if you wish."

Hinata moved to sit back into Naruto's lap, making an act of 'accidentally' elbowing him in the face. It had the desired effect: no snarky remark that would lead to another useless (if not highly amusing) tangent.

"Arigato, Hyuuga-san. From now on the two of you will be known as Shadow Raven Name. Or just Raven for short. Its actually wiser if you avoid using your prefix. I doubt anyone outside of ANBU would know its significance, but there's no need to make changes. Also, I have some good news and some bad news."

Naruto perked up a bit, wiping the blood off of his nose and moving Hinata's torso to one side. "Eh? What news? Did Konohamaru finally find a passing genin team?"

Hinata had her own priorities. "Bad news first."

Shikamaru produced a number of documents paper clipped together. He handed them each a pen and pointed to two blank spaces. "Sign please."

Naruto was suspicious. "I hope we're not selling our souls away or anything. I already owe Kakashi on a number of debts."

Hinata didn't hesitate and signed. Not one to be topped in the act of an uncaring shinobi attitude, Naruto immediately did the same. When he saw the smile on Shikamaru's face he knew he had just made a huge mistake.

"The good news is I just solved your partner's problem, Naruto. The bad news was that some idiot chuunin had an accident with an exploding tag inventory and blew up two dozen living spaces at the barracks. Most of you're stuff was salvaged Hinata-san, not to worry." He reassured. "The issue was that because of the housing shortage Hyuuga-san would have been living on the street. As it is, eight others are without a roof over their heads, and they were ahead on the list. Naturally since you weren't there to request a new room you were rock bottom."

Naruto frowned. 'I have a bad feeling about this.' "So what does this have to do with me? Why not just put her up with... oh no clan affiliations, right... and since the districts are... uh oh."

Hinata was completely lost. "Wait, what just happened?"

The Rokudaime leaned forward with a dark look of satisfaction on his face. "From what I remember you're flat has a guest room does it not? I took the liberty of organizing the papers so Hinata could move in with you. Its more convenient anyway- you two are hard enough to get a hold of as it is. This will make my messengers much happier. Pretty crafty, don't you think?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"_YOU DID WHAT?_"

* * *

When they finally returned home that night, for they now shared 'home', the two ANBU were in slightly higher spirits. Apparently Shikamaru was not going to press charges for them beating him to within an inch of his life. Of course there were other pluses as well. All of Hinata's things had already been moved into Naruto's flat. The guest closet was full of clothes, containment scrolls were stacked neatly in the provisions closet oposite of Naruto's own gear, and even her desk, lamp and pictures had been carefully rearranged into the significantly larger space. The young heiress was clearly exhausted and exacerbated by the situation, but at the very least she had a sunken bath to look forward to. Naruto's only stipulation was to clean up afterward. She was surprised at the level of organization the former rookie prankster kept in his abode. It really was a nice place.

After her bath (which was fantastic- compliments of revitalizing sea salts that Naruto used (also how his skin was so smooth she suspected)) she made her way to investigate the kitchen. She was right about one thing: she would definitely be able to cook with what the flat was equipped with. The island in the middle, the dual sinks, the massive food refrigerator and freezer, the small wine refrigerator, the numerous cooking utensils stored neatly above in polished wooden cabinets- it was a housewife's dream.

Not that she had any interest in being one.

The kitchen and bath may have been the highlights, but that didn't mean she overlooked anything. The choice of couch and bean bag, the massive H.D. television, her bed which had a tolerable level of softness for her... it was a significant upgrade over her previous quarters. She had been tempted to ask about which bathroom she should frequent (there was a sink and toilet in the guest room, the full bath in the master, and a shower-sink-toilet combo in the common) but it had been clear her partner didn't care so long as she was tidy. The only thing about the accommodations she might have complained about was the superiority of Naruto's bed. Instead of a double it was a queen with silk sheets and the exact level of firmness she liked in a mattress. She couldn't have picked one better herself. Top it off that is was lavender... she could have sworn someone was hinting at something. Maybe this would be a good thing.

On the other hand the company could have been better.

"If you're done staring at my bed, I'd like to go over some ground rules... and as for those sheets- they weren't there before. Sakura probably took a chance and ran with it. There's now way she'd stay out of the loop on something as big as this. Plus she knows you well enough. Ughhh... she's always looking for an excuse to get me into a relationship. I feel like Shikamaru whenever I think about it; troublesome."

Hinata tolerated his attempt at humor. "I see. Well, if it helps, she has very good taste. I wouldn't mind swapping with you."

"I would."

"Ok then."

"... this is... awkward, I guess." Naruto confessed. "I've never shared a place before, let alone with a girl... woman."

His tenant flopped back onto the bed and rolled for his benefit. "Well get used to it. Though, to be honest, I've never been in a situation like this either. It is kind of strange, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Naruto leaned against his oak dresser that was braced against the wall. "Remember that time when I said you were using me for practice?"

Hinata shrugged. "I guess."

He grinned. "Looks like I just sunk lower."

That got a laugh. She covered her mouth and looked straight at him. The tinge of pink in her cheeks almost made her glow. For a moment Naruto thought he was seeing a Hinata from an earlier time. Maybe a better time. 'She looks carefree. When was the last time I could just laugh like that? Maybe this is a gift? If I can figure out whatever it is about her that makes me feel, then I can use it.' Her eyes shimmered a silver and lavender sheen. 'Those eyes... again. Sometimes when I look at them I forget who I am... ANBU.'

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up your highness." Working to establish order once again in his household, the blonde stalked over to his antagonist and picked her up to her feet. "Just don't get too comfy. Eventually I'll be able to find other housing for you. This isn't a permanent set up."

"I never said it was." Her pleasant gesture, unimposing, disarmed him some. She twirled away from him and out into the living room, onto the black leather couch. "Are you coming?"

Naruto ran his hand through his hair, a habit he had picked up some time in the last four years. A nervous habit. 'I'll have to be careful about that issue.' He thought darkly.

"No, I thought I'd take a trip to the West." Casually, but hopefully not too casually, he sat down in the matching armchair. "Right, ground rules."

If he expected Hinata to respond verbally she didn't. Instead she just stared at him. After what might have been a minute she made a motion with her hands.

"Ok then. One: do what makes sense. You see how I run things around here, so just do as I do. Keep it clean and organized, ask if you're unsure about anything. There's no reason we can't be sensible adults about this. Two: if you want privacy you'll have to make it. Lock your doors and don't sleep in the nude. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not particularly keen on modesty."

"Sounds like an excuse to see me naked." She said dryly.

Naruto gave her a foxy grin and a wink. "And if it is, its your problem- my house. Aaaanyway, on to the don'ts. Don't run around and scent the place without having me sample it first. I know girls like to do things like that, but my nose is a bit sensitive. In fact, rule number three: ask. When in doubt just ask. Four: I run on a schedule, you know that from our training. Don't expect to sleep in unless I say so the night before... and don't expect me to make you breakfast either. I'm feeling generous, so tomorrow will be my treat, but in the morning I'm going to show you around the kitchen. Do your own shopping. If we need to we can switch off on getting things we both use like milk or whatever."

"Can I give you a rule?" She asked tentatively- an heiress never had to ask. Fortunately he withheld any witty remark. "Ummm... I get kind of... weird during certain times. So cut me a little slack now and then."

Naruto nodded, looking wise if it was possible. "Yeah- you don't have to tell me twice. I remember the cramps you had in Wave."

"Aren't you tact?" She repiled sarcastically.

"Nope." He said with mock cheer. "Alright, last rule. Never, and when I say never I mean never follow me if I leave in the night."

Hinata paused halfway through what would have been an agreeing gesture. "Ummm... anything I should know about then? Like why I shouldn't? It isn't an 'if I told you I would have to kill you thing is it?'"

She was sorry she asked. Naruto gave her a dire look. "Just don't."

"H-hai." 'I better listen to him. Whatever it is I don't think I want to know.'

Both stayed silent for a while after that. Naruto went to get them each a small glass and they toasted to being screwed over by Shikamaru. He was tempted to have a second drink, but the fatigue was finally beginning to catch up with him. Stifling a yawn, he went to go was the glasses and replace them on their respective shelf. The hard sake he had poured returned to its refrigerator. He came back with a pear in each hand and two napkins.

"They're really good." He said simply, tossing her one and then handing her a napkin.

He sat beside her on the couch, careful to unfold the napkins so as not to leak any juice onto the expensive leather. He watched her eat and was drawn to her lips as they moved over the pear. Juice dribbled down her chin. The moist fragrance of her lips carried to his nostrils, and he breathed deeply. There was something... calming about her, watching her do things. It was as if he got some sort of inner peace by observing her when she appeared contented. He idly toyed with the idea of her playing wife and had to stifle a laugh.

"Man, I'm really losing it." The lilt in her voice was easy on her ears.

"I'm a woman last I checked," she jibed, "and what is it you've lost?"

"My mind of course. I just had an image of you flouncing around in an apron and making me pancakes- I nearly choked."

Hinata giggled. "That does sound pretty funny. But you're definitely losing you're mind. The day I become content to be a housewife is the day the world ends. Love is such a boring thing really."

He leaned forward slightly. "Isn't it?"

Suddenly she realized he was right next to her. "Y-yeah..."

He leaned a little closer, still. His eyes looked... intense and... happy? Playful? "Careful Hina-chan... you'll get juice on my couch."

Her breath caught when he gently used his finger to collect the liquid on her chin and placed it in his mouth. "They're good aren't they?" He said more to himself than to her, though his gaze never wavered.

"Uh-huh..." She was so tempted to do the same to him if only... he bit into the pear again. The sweet nectar flowed from one corner of his mouth, dribbling down his lips. In a nearly identical motion she reached forward and wiped it up with her forefinger, depositing the sweet taste of him and the fruit into her mouth.

It tasted very good.

She was staring at him, she realized. Staring with no excuse. 'Damn... damnit.' She blinked in an attempt to break the feeling growing in her, a pressure in her chest. It did little to relieve her distress.

"Looks like you're all done." He said quietly. She was nearly frozen when he took the pear from her hand and finished it in front of her. "I think you got the better one. You can never tell with these, you know. I'm going to go clean up. You should wash your hands."

She nodded dumbly and did as he said. When she returned from the bathroom he had put the pears down the disposal and the napkins into the small wastebin under the sink. His hands were freshly washed.

A thought struck her. "If we do this right, I think it could be fun."

"Fun?"

She flashed him a smile. Better than the other special one. This one was new. It was a beautiful smile with teeth... bright beautiful smiling Hinata...

"Yeah."

He looked away, as if weighing the matter. "Fun... I like that. Fun."

He stopped his dialogue there then shrugged, heading towards his room.

"G'night." She said sweetly in mock adoration. It wasn't lost on him.

"Don't sleep naked." He taunted right back.

"Sure thing."

"..."

"..."

"KAMI-SAMA! I ALMOST FORGOT!" He yelled suddenly.

Hinata almost jumped back in alarm, so startled was her partner. "What? What's wrong?"

If he was his former self, Naruto would have been bouncing off the walls. "Tomorrow- its tomorrow! How could I forget? TOMORROW! YEAH! Sorry Hina-san, you'll just have to wait and see."

With that, he shut his door behind him and left an extremely confused Hinata standing alone. She felt tired with him gone so abruptly, very, very tired. She half walked, half staggered into her room and fell asleep almost immediately. Just before she passed out she wondered what he had been so excited about. 'Must be something important...'

Meanwhile, on the other side of Naruto's door, a certain Kyuubi container's heart was hammering in his chest. 'That was too close... why did I behave so strangely? If it wasn't for that event tomorrow I would have lost it for sure. Kami-sama! What is she doing to me... and... why do I like it?'

So began another chapter for Dark Fox and Night Orchid, two individuals linked as a single entity known as Raven.


	13. Food for Thought

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Light crept through the window and onto the young woman's face.

After the previous day's events she had been utterly exhausted and more than happy to sleep in. In fact, she preferred it. When she was younger she used to delight in waking up that very way. The sunlight would gently caress her to wakefulness and she would exult in the comforting darkness of her blank mental sanctuary. She still enjoyed waking like that. Unfortunately, waking up late in the morning signified something entirely different in her current life. It would never be the same. Now whenever she awoke late she worried if something was amiss.

'Where is Naruto anyway?'

Pleasant smells wafted through the crack under her door. The sleep ruffled heiress rolled lazily to one side and set her feet on the floor. Something out of the ordinary was going on this day. Her partner's curious behavior last night had made that much clear. There was just one good way to find out. Ask him.

She considered changing into something more than just an oversized T-shirt and purple panties, but her growling stomach protested. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and walked out into the living room, making for the kitchen. The most wonderful aromas filled the air. 'Why in the name of Kami would Naruto cook for me?'

"I see you're awake," he observed with amusement, "I was going to get you up earlier, but I figured you could use some extra sleep. Besides, you were so adorable sprawled out on the bed, drooling and snoring away, that I couldn't bring myself to disturb you."

"You're sick."

"I know."

She snorted and let out a low yawn, stretching sensuously in a way unbecoming to a nineteen-year-old heiress. Her t-shirt lifted up to her midriff, threatening to expose the bottom of her bust and revealing her sole undergarment. She let out something akin to a purr before circling around the kitchen's island to see what her partner had conjured up to break their fast.

Were she not nobility she might have been impressed. There was something to be said about being born and bred a Hyuuga when you didn't bat an eyelash at a table full of expertly cooked food.

Still, the display piqued her curiosity. "Is there a reason you're cooking half the food in your kitchen? I doubt you're concerned for my health."

Naruto looked up, briefly shifting his attention Night Orchid. "I've yet to lie when ever I tell someone that I have the most attractive woman in Konoha in my Name." His gaze lowered. "Nice panties, by the way."

Hinata fixed the folds of her shirt with little concern. Why should she care if he got an eyeful anyway? Its not like he was actually seeing anything he shouldn't. She never did understand why girls freaked out when they were caught in their underthings... unless of course it was a boy they were crushing on. In that she had plenty of experience.

"Well, now you know how far my favor of lavender extends." She said without a hint of embarrassment. She sauntered over to poke him in the shoulder and gave him a haughty look. "And what can I do? Its not my fault Kami cursed me with this perfect body. What cruel treatment to have drop dead gorgeous looks." She swooned (or at least pretended to) and caught herself before she fell. Naruto would let her fall- it was just like him.

The Kyuubi container did little more than cock an eyebrow, though a slight tug at his lips suggested a smile. "Actually, I was referring to Naruko," he said, referring to his feminine alter-ego, "but you're not bad."

Ceramic fruit bowls were exceptionally useful. Especially when it came to beaning your sarcastic superior and his dry wit with something messy.

Of course, any shinobi wearing a forehead protector could catch such a projectile. The Yondaime's heir was no exception. He flashed her a cocky smile before biting into the peach she had thrown at him and returned to his cooking.

Temporarily beaten, Hinata took refuge in one of the breakfast table chairs, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her palms.

After he had flipped the pancakes and turned over the bacon he spoke to her again. "If you expected an honest answer then you really can't claim to know me yet."

Hinata rolled her eyes. "If I wanted an honest answer you'd be the last person I'd ask." She paused. "Got any sticky buns?" She loved the delicious little pastries.

"Nope."

Clearly it was up to her to try and make conversation.

"So what are you doing, anyway?" She asked.

"Making room."

'That's an awful lot of room.' She thought flatly. "For what?"

"Food obviously."

"What kind of food?"

"You'll see."

Hinata watched him continue to cook for several more minutes as he systematically emptied his refrigerator. This done, he loaded up one plate with a wide range of foods and then removed a small dish for some toast. She was about to protest that she wanted more than toast for breakfast when he set the heavy plate in front of her. He just smiled in that way of his and then went to retrieve butter, jam, and two glasses of orange juice and water; one for each of them.

She watched in near awe as he proceeded to politely munch on his toast and sip at his water and orange juice.

"Alright, what's the catch?" She asked, resigning herself to some sort of prank he was going to pull on her.

He grinned. "No catch. I'm just making room for later."

"You're a bottomless pit in the first place. What could you possibly need to make room for?"

"You'll see."

"Ughh."

Accepting that he wasn't going to provide her with any answers, she began to dig into her food. Literally. She hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the first morsel passed through her lips. She moaned quietly in approval of his skills.

"You never told me you could cook like this."

His eyes leveled with her and he regarded her with passable sincerity. "You never asked. When Kakashi is your partner its practically a survival skill. He's not bad sober, but when he's drunk..." He suppressed a shutter. "Let me put it this way. Kakashi's drunk cooking is only something you need to experience once. After that you'll jump for the first cookbook you can find."

"Mmphhh. Mmmmhmmm." She attempted to speak with a mouthful of food and utterly failed.

Naruto did his best not to laugh. "If this is what Konoha considers nobility its no wonder that the Daimyo doesn't like us." He teased. "Careful not to choke... I'm not giving you mouth to mouth if you do."

Hinata paused in what could only be described as her annihilation of her food. "I despise my clan. Remember?"

Naruto frowned. "Actually, no. I know Neji once held a grudge, but I never knew you cared."

She sighed. "They always treated me like crap because I wasn't the prodigy that he was. Even Hinabi was stronger than me for a while. Finally I just got fed up of it and quit being a shinobi. After a while I realized I was only proving their point, so I practiced in secret and then cleared the jonin exams. I took the ANBU training route and the rest is history."

"I see." He watched as she began her assault once more. "You do know that if you eat slower you get more nutrients from your food, right?"

"Like I care." She retorted. "We're young. We can abuse our bodies as much as we want now and worry about paying for it when we hit forty. Besides, the average life span of a Konoha shinobi is only twenty eight these days."

He nodded in agreement. "ANBU is only twenty-two and a half."

"So I'm living it up while I can." She supplied.

He eyed her warily. "You continue eating like that 'n you'll get fat. Don't blame me when a branch cracks under you and you get captured."

She sniffed. "I can eat what I like. Besides, I can binge every once in a while. You've seen what my diet is like."

"Yeah," he snickered, "anything that's tasty until you put on a pound and freak out. Then its back to celery sticks and non-fat ranch."

"Touché'." She gave him a point for being observant. "But you do know I'm capable of inflicting excessive pain with a single tap. Tread lightly, task master."

The Kyuubi container leaned backwards, balancing precariously on a single leg of his chair. "Believe me when I say that no amount of pain you could give me would ever come close to what I was put through. If you want to attempt to tickle my ribs, be my guest."

Hinata finished swallowing a large bite of pancake before replying. "Oh yeah? Well, women have a higher threshold for pain then men, so there."

Naruto took another bite of his toast followed by a gulp of his orange juice. "Actually that's a common misconception. Men were originally built to be hunters and woman the care-givers. Thus, we can tolerate a significantly higher level of pain than women. Go look it up in a medical encyclopedia. Better yet, just go ask Sakura; same thing essentially."

"And here I thought I would at least always have the edge of intelligence over you." It was a half-truth. Naruto was smarter then he looked. On the other hand he didn't look very smart in the first place.

"Yup. Men build muscle faster, store fat less readily, and have superior combat reflexes. Women have better agility, an ability to track more targets at once, and assets of great distraction." She didn't need to ask him what he meant by 'assets.' He poured it on and smirked as Hinata tried to keep her cool. "Of course you also have to deal with internal bleeding and hysteria once a month, as well suppress the urge to hump anything in sight during that 'other' time. Then you get to carry the babies too and put on a third your weight."

"Well aren't you a smooth talker? At least I don't have to worry about having babies- I hate them. I'll never bear any man's child."

"Aren't you supposed to marry so the Hyuuga main branch can have an heir?"

She glowered at him. "Just shut up already."

"Gomen." He apologized politely. "Hey don't feel bad. With those narrow hips they might just let it slide."

Hinata darkened further as he dug his hole deeper. "My hips are not narrow! They are well proportioned and make my suitors go wild when I sway them side to side... just because my shoulders are a little broader than my hips doesn't mean-" The Ino-like outburst set off alarm bells for her partner.

"Woah, woah." Naruto interrupted, controlling her outburst. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Hina-chan. Sorry- I just wanted to make you feel better."

"Well next time think before you shove your foot in your mouth!" She said hotly.

"Sorry."

"Just drop it."

"But-"

"I said drop it damnit!"

One morning of living together and things were already shit.

Breakfast continued with no more conversation. After she had washed her own dishes she excused herself and took a shower. She drew great pleasure in draining the hot water heater to the dregs as she contemplated the numerous ways she could render her partner incapable of siring children. She changed into casual clothing (for they had no mission today)- a light purple kimono with a yellow obi and plain tabi before returning to the breakfast table. Sitting there was a note telling her to be at Genma's at 5pm.

'Genma's doesn't even open until seven... something's up.'

With nothing else to do for five hours she decided to get some fresh air.

* * *

The streets of Konoha were not the same as they once were. Gone were the days when children walked hand in hand with friends or family while merchants chatted and hawked their wares. Konoha was still in an economic depression, though it was steadily recovering. Shikamaru had been responsible for much of it, creating jobs out of thin air. Citizens were contracted to clear rubble and remake roads and construct buildings- essentially rebuilding the whole city. Wave had been critical in its assistance, giving out large loans with low interest that allowed for the initial cost of securing materials. Konoha had come dangerously close to declaring bankruptcy, but in the end they had prevailed.

That was in part due to the Rokudaime's other scheming. Somehow the genius shadow-user had put on an aggressive front and secured a huge amount of clientele for their shinobi to work for. The trouble was exactly what he had advertised. Konoha would accept any mission, given the pay was right. The result was a massive influx of higher-ranking missions that quickly had the stronger shinobi scrambling frantically to meet the demand. When the missions began to pile up he was forced to make another move. A-rank missions became available to chuunin trios as well as solo jonin. It wasn't odd for one of the more senior jonin to do such a thing, but many of the newbies just couldn't handle it.

The aftermath was disastrous. Before Orochimaru had attacked Konoha, it was home to over two thousand active shinobi. In that one attack over two hundred were lost. When Pain had destroyed the better part of the village the dust settled with only twelve hundred shinobi still fit for duty. The rest were either dead or too badly injured to reenter the service. Yet, for all of the sacrifices of war, two years of Shikamaru's new mission protocol had killed off another third- or at least in the numerical sense. Only a hundred twenty or so were actually killed with another fifty too badly injured to continue. It was the parents pulling their children out of the academy or out of the genin and chuunin ranks that had done the real damage. Seeing his mistake, Shikamaru changed back to the previous calls with a single exception.

ANBU.

Normally the black ops. worked in three man teams for A and S rank missions. Now a partner system was used. With increased wages and all kinds of medical and life insurance the ranks swelled. Unfortunately the death rate in ANBU rose dramatically due to the streamlined effort to train shinobi who were barely passable jonin into ANBU. Hinata had been smart enough to take the long road instead of what was essentially a three-month cram school (what most people did).

Thoughts of her changed life filled her head as Hinata wended her way through town. He reverie was broken when she found herself at training ground three. What she saw there was somewhere between an ill-humored farce and a nightmare of horrific proportions.

Lee had a genin team.

"YOSH! We shall do fifty laps around the training ground!"

"But senseeeeeeiiii!" A short girl with black hair whined.

The boys on either side of her didn't seem thrilled either.

"On our hands!"

Hinata had to stifle a giggle as all three genins' mouths hit the ground.

"Lee-sensei! Are you insane? There's no way we can do that!" The boy on the right cried.

Lee looked thunder struck. "YOU ARE RIGHT, YOHIRO! YOSH! WE SHALL INSTEAD DO FIFTY LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE!"

The three face faulted. Apparently they had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they had passed the survival training.

A deluge of complaints and protests issued from the youngsters' mouths. Lee took it in stride and began preaching to them about how fiercely the fires of youth burned within them. After several minutes with no progress Hinata finally decided to intervene. She was in a sadistic mood after all.

In a blink she appeared behind the three and let out an impressive display of killer intent, instantly dropping all but Lee to their knees. "You know... Lee once ran a hundred laps around the village on his hands without complaint. If you can't do something so basic as that then you're simply not cut out to be shinobi."

"GAI-SENSEI! WAHHHHH!" Geysers of tears erupted from his eyes, creating a large puddle in mere seconds. Though Gai was alive and well Lee still lamented that his sensei was no longer able to instruct him and accompany him regularly. It was far more difficult for his 'fires of youth' to burn as brightly without his flamboyant master. (It was for this very reason that Shikamaru intentionally separated the two.) After a few more outbursts Lee blinked twice and then broke into a huge smile, the episode passing as swiftly as it came. "Hinata-san! Greetings!"

'And he wonders why he can never get a date.' She stepped between the genin, toppling them and advancing a few steps towards Lee. "Yo." Though she was disgusted by his behavior it was nothing new.

"What are you doing on this fine day in Konoha?"

She shrugged. "Just taking a walk."

"Take note my young disciples! See how Hinata-san familiarizes herself with the village in order to defend it better against attack."

"Actually I was just taking a walk. And thinking I suppose."

He nodded, regarding her seriously. "Ah, just as well. The flames of youth burn brightly within, but sometimes it is good to take rest. Even the brightest of us must rekindle and fetch more fuel from time to time... perhaps you are thinking upon your new place of rest?"

Well that was a surprise. At least the last part. "I take it half the village already knows?"

"YOSH! Tenten told me two days ago."

She shook her head. 'That means Shika spilled to Temari and Temari to Sakura. After that its no wonder that even Lee knows... that means Neji must know. This is bad. This is very bad. Father will finally know Naruto is my partner. Shika said to keep it a secret and he wouldn't say that without reason. And now I'm living with him. Just great.'

"You look conflicted Hinata-san. Are you well?"

"Fine." Suddenly she regretted her decision to talk to him. On the other hand, she would have found out sooner or later. At least now she had time to prepare for the inevitable inquisition from the gossip crew and her father.

She said a brief goodbye and left feeling worse about her situation than she had after Naruto had blundered his way into being an ass again. She had only been thinking of their arrangement from her own perspective- not of how the village would view it. She might as well just say she was sleeping with him so people would leave her alone. 'On second thought that would be a bad idea. Naruto is held in high esteem- people will take our word for it. He may be an ass, but at least he has a good reputation.'

* * *

"And you wonder why you have such a bad reputation." Sasuke deadpanned. "Now everyone is going to think you've regressed or something."

"Have I?" The blonde asked rhetorically.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded. "Whatever. See you at five."

Naruto checked his watch as the Teme departed. '14:15 and only three more people to find. So far, so good.'

Approximately three hours later Hinata arrived at Genma's. Gathered in front were the Konoha twelve, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai and a few others she recognized by face only. They were all absorbed in small talk of some sort. Only Naruto seemed to take notice of her arrival.

"Ah- Hina-chan! You're the last person to show up."

Hinata winced at his volume. Now he had to be loud too. "Ever heard of an inside voice?" She asked hostilely.

"We're outside." He said, looking puzzled. He did have a point.

She sighed. She really didn't want to have to deal with him at the moment. "Alright, so what are we all here for?"

Naruto's eyes almost sparkled with excitement. "OK everyone! Its time!"

The crowd followed him to his destination... directly across the street. A cloth was draped across the top of a brand new building. It said 'Grand Reopening!' Hinata hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on. Naruto had no interest in shops unless they involved food. 'He cleaned out his fridge. It has to be a restaurant.'

Naruto walked up to the door and knocked. Moments later a woman popped her head out and smiled warmly. "Ah-Naruto-san! Come in, come in!"

Everyone piled in, Hinata included, into the establishment. It was perhaps the size of a large diner, but with superior decor. Booths and bar seats were available with orange and black leather furnishings. Low lighting gave it a laid back sort of feeling; cozy. A river that featured sushi boats circled the bar and went into the kitchen where the dishes were prepared. Rich smells permeated the air and made her realize her hunger. She hadn't eaten since she had left for her walk.

Instead of menus there was one large board that had all the prices. It included different noodle dishes and soups, sushi prices according to plate color, drinks and side dishes. At the top it read...

"Three orders of miso, two pork, four beef, one chicken and one seafood special Ayame-chan!"

Ichiraku Ramen and Sushi Bar

Despite how crappy her day had been Hinata couldn't help but crack a smile.


	14. Moonshine Lullaby

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Hinata staggered home drunk and in a complete stupor. Or at least she thought that was where she was going. Judging by the way the ground was spinning crazily about her feet she couldn't be so sure. 'Damned streets! They don't make them like they used to!' Several civilians she passed watched her inebriated outrage with arched eyebrows. It was a rare thing to see a Hyuuga floundering the streets of Konoha just after dark. Let alone the heiress to the clan. What could possibly posses her to be so careless?

Well...

What had begun as a bad day had turned into a nightmare. The morning had been miserable in and of itself. The revelation that her new 'arrangement', as the Rokudaime put it, was probably known by half of Konoha by now was not in the least bit comforting. She was sure to catch hell when her father finally managed schedule a meeting with the erring heiress. Fortunately Neji would run interference for her. Or at least he usually did. She hadn't had an opportunity to ask him at Ichiraku's. She had been too... distracted.

The party should have been an uplifting experience, an opportunity to relive some of the better days of her youth. Instead she was dragged into a pit of conflict and confusion. She was so sure she had shored up her emotions against any turbulence she might experience in face of her new career. Unfortunately she hadn't expected that certain... variables would play as such a wild card in her proverbial 'hand.' Of course all this could have been avoided had she the wisdom to do what her partner always stressed: hide in plain sight. Forgetting it was most regrettable.

The worst part was that she had no one to blame but herself. After the initial clamor of orders everyone had broken into their respective cliques. Naruto had opted to sit at the bar with Sasuke while the male parts of Team 8 joined the company of Ino and Choji- essentially leaving Hinata stranded by herself. Or at least that was how it felt. Feeling sorry for herself, she decided to seat herself on the opposite side of the Ichiraku, hoping that someone would take notice and come to her rescue. It made sense that someone would notice. No one ever left her alone before. Whoever 'Murphy' was, she wanted to seek him out and eviscerate him for creating his stupid law.

After an hour she ordered sake and a few more sushi rolls (she had already ordered a bowl of miso ramen and some tempura earlier). That was when things had really turned for the worst- sort of. Her old sensei had shown up out of nowhere (this being a booth she shared with Kakashi and some other jonin) and sat opposite of her. They had never been very close. Hinata was so introverted in her youth that she seldom spoke with her sensei. Naturally when she sat down at her booth, she was a little confused. The four servings of sake didn't help either. She blamed Naruto for making her develop the habit.

The conversation had gone well until Kurenai asked why she wasn't sitting at the bar with Naruto, or reminiscing with Kiba and Shino. Her face had been an open book, or at least to the Yuuhi it had been. Instead of responding to her sensei, she gazed, unseeing, at the bar. Though her red eyes were not specific to any blood limit it didn't make her any less perceptive. Hinata shrugged and offered her a weak smile.

Then her sensei dropped the bomb.

"I've seen that look a hundred times before."

"Huh?"

Kurenai smiled sadly at her and patted her hand. "Whoever he is, he's not worth it, darling."

With no further words between them the genjutsu mistress of Konoha left Hinata to dwell on that statement. In her slightly inebriated state it took her a minute to realize what her sensei had been talking about.

Naruto. She had been talking about Naruto.

At first she had been angry that Kurenai assumed she was involved with him, or at least pining for him. Then she had remembered that Kurenai hadn't said Naruto- it was she who made him assume that roll. She had been defending her relationship with him. Why would she defend if she had nothing to hide? Kurenai had somehow forced an answer from her that Hinata didn't even know she possessed. Her realization had been her confession.

And then she knew.

'I'm being defensive about my relationship with Naruto... Why would I do that unless... oh no.'

The little bastard... he had unwittingly just complicated her life again.

The logical part of her attempted to diffuse the situation. She had only thought of Naruto because she spent more time with him than anyone else... well that didn't make sense. When she was younger she never hung out with him and he practically ruled her psyche. She tried again. Naruto was foremost in her mind because he was such a pain. If that was true, then she was only supporting the 'not worth it' part of Kurenai's words. No matter which way she attacked the idea, the result was the same: Hyuuga Hinata, the girl who had forsaken love and sworn to become the strongest kunoichi in the world had been defeated by the very thing that had forced her to that course in the first place.

She couldn't deny it. Some part of her was attracted to Naruto.

As she watched her feet begin to drag through the dirt-paved street again, she started to doubt herself.

'Did I really ever stop loving him?' She began, starting with the worst possible explanation. 'Was this all some sort of massive excuse just to get closer to him? Am I really that pathetic?' She thought harder and her expression relaxed. 'No. Thank Kami-sama, no. I am my own woman now. Not some love deprived teen desperately clinging to some idiot-boy.'

An image of her younger self defiantly standing up to an unenlightened Neji burst into her mind. She had nearly died that day for someone who barely acknowledged her existence. The though made her sick to her stomach, so much so that she wretched in the street. Fortunately her food and sake was long digested. Her lip curled into a sneer.

'I killed that useless girl off years ago!'

The words bounced around her brain, encouraging her previous line of thought.

'Besides, he's a different person now. Its not like I like the same person,' she rationalized, 'This Naruto couldn't be any more different. That was the boy, this is the man...' Her thoughts wondered back to his masculine beauty. 'Kami... the look in his eyes right before he makes a kill...' A pleasant shudder traveled up her spine. 'I must be really fucked up if that turns me on.' She giggled at the idea. Her face turned a flushed red and it wasn't from the booze.

A picture formed in her mind of Naruto fighting in a combat mission a month earlier. They had been ordered to raid a bandit camp that was led by some missing-nin. The group had been attacking merchants on the coast of Tea Country for the past several weeks. Vengeance had been glorious. There were over twenty-five of them and not a single one escaped alive. Eleven of those kills she could account for. The other fourteen...

She shivered pleasantly. Naruto, drenched in blood, a savage look in his eye, butchering the enemy with his wakazashi. He was the image of grace as he danced in and out of them, cutting into them unreservedly with blades of chakra, wind and steel. The bloodthirsty smile on his face and the glint in his eyes was so intense. Her eyes were half shut and she bit her lip. Her knees became weak even thinking about it.

'Ok- now I know I'm fucked up.' Then it hit her. 'How could I even think he'd be interested in someone as deranged as I am?' Then she smiled. 'That's right. He's _really_ fucked up.'

She shifted her course. This epiphany called for a celebration, or for a serious bender that would dull the ache in her head. Same thing.

'But I only like him. Its not like I have feelings for him.'

Mind at ease, she stumbled towards the nearest bar.

* * *

Naruto was happy. He couldn't remember having a better night in years. Kami-sama how he had missed Ichiraku ramen!

The party had been a great success. The food was great and the company was agreeable. Then again, nearly anyone was preferable to his ill-humored partner. She had disappeared some time ago and for this Naruto was thankful. He really deserved the break. Besides, Hinata was a grown woman. She could take care of herself. She didn't need him.

Then why did that thought make him angry? He had shoved the annoying quandary back into the recesses of his consciousness as soon as it had reared its ugly head.

Besides that one momentary lapse, the rest of his time had been most enjoyable. The party finally died down after two and a half hours, leaving only a handful of the original participants. Namely Kakashi, himself and the odd couple (Sasuke and Sakura). They were sitting together at a table, talking about 'the good old days', sharing laughs and drinks. Overall, the members of Team 7 were having the night of their lives. That was, until now.

Hinata had once again worked her way into his mostly perfect day. Who the hell cared what kind of relationship he had with her? Well, Sakura did for one, and hell if he was going to give her any more shit to toss around the rumor windmill. On the other hand he did want to keep the option of having children open to him in the future. The way Konoha's head medical-nin was beginning to turn red was not a good sign.

"Naruto! Are you paying attention? Answer the goddamned question! Yes or no?"

"NO!" He half yelled, denying anything more than a monosyllabic answer for the nth time.

"Jeeze baka- I was only asking." Sakura said defensively.

"She's my partner," Naruto explained. "I'll admit she's good to work with and she's an OK friend when she's not annoying, but that's it."

Sasuke's lip curled into his standard arrogant smirk. "That's what I said to her- now look at me. Doomed for life."

Much to the surprise of all three, Sakura didn't pommel her husband to death. Instead she smiled. Dangerously.

"Have fun sleeping alone tonight."

A sweat drop formed on the back of Sasuke's head and he turned several shades paler, rivaling Hinata's complexion. "Hn?"

Naruto snickered. "Looks like your screwed tonight, Teme."

"No," Sakura corrected, "screwed is what he wont be tonight."

A couple of years ago and Naruto would have blushed at her brazenness. Nowadays the sexcapades of Konoha's no. 1 mismatch were known far and wide. How could they not when Sakura finally put that scream of hers to good use?

Meanwhile, Kakashi turned another page of his Icha-Icha and sipped at his sake, miraculously without removing his mask. Throughout all their years together the members of Team 7 had tried endlessly to reveal the man behind the mask with no success. It was a running gag amongst them that not even Anko knew what he really looked like.

"How do you kiss then?" Sakura had once asked.

"Adults don't need to kiss. We have other ways of expressing ourselves."

That had been the end of any attempt to harass the answer out of the stoic copy-ninja.

"I can relate... no wait, never mind." He said in complete monotone.

Naruto smiled evilly. "You don't have any choice."

It was Kakashi's turn to pale.

"This from the nineteen-year-old never-been-kissed." Sakura droned.

"Then I guess I don't count?" Sasuke baited.

"WHY YOU-" The pink haired banshee took it hook, line and sinker. Every time the resident emo brought up his 'first kiss' Sakura went ape-shit. It wasn't difficult to remember that tragic first day when Naruto had stumbled into accidental lip lock with the classes no. 1 rookie. Apparently when ever Sakura 'remembered' she always 'staked her claim' afterwards. Sasuke was too crafty for his own good. A minute later and Kakashi and Naruto sat alone at the table.'

"So..."

"So?" Kakashi mimicked.

"Does Anko know you're here?"

The copy-nin's visible eye turned into a half circle. "Not a clue. I'm out on a mission tonight."

"I thought so."

"So..."

"So?"

Kakashi stood. "Want to grab a couple of drinks?"

Naruto knew exactly what 'a couple' were by Kakashi standards. "Naw, I think I'll pass."

He shrugged. "Alright, I was going to buy but..."

"You're lying."

Kakashi took on his most innocent look, if there was such a thing. "Would I ever lie to you?"

"Yes." Naruto said with no hesitation.

The sharingan wielder let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, you caught me. You're buying."

Naruto didn't know what to think. It was the first time he could remember Kakashi offering to buy. It was also the first time he had admitted to lying. There was only one conclusion: the copy-nin was up to something.

"Why?"

"Because," Kakashi replied blandly, "A: I'm broke. B: Genma wont let me buy more than six drinks. And C: ... I need to be smashed first."

Naruto had the oddest feeling that he was walking into a trap. "Tell me what C is first."

"Smashed."

"Sensei..."

In a gesture of supreme sacrifice, Kakashi glanced up from his ero-novel. "Trust me. You may be the stronger shinobi, but it's my job as your sensei to instruct you in all things."

"You never taught me shit."

"Rasenshuriken?"

"Taught myself."

"Tree walking?"

"Sakura-chan."

"Blackmailing?"

"Baa-chan."

"Bullshitting?"

"Ero-sennin."

"..."

"I told you so."

Kakashi shrugged. "This is more important than any jutsu or tactic you've ever learned."

Now he had Naruto's attention. 'Is he bluffing? This is pretty far to go for a few drinks, even for him. More important than any jutsu? Could this be the secret to his 100% success rate?'

"Will it make me stronger?"

Kakashi turned and began to walk towards the door, waving his hand as he did so. "I'll be at Genma's."

Naruto paid the bill and checked his wallet. He'd just have Genma put it on his tab.

Naruto wasn't just drunk, he was destroyed. Whatever it was Kakashi was going to tell him about had been forgotten after drink number seven. Now he was polishing off his eleventh and contemplated whether another drink or two was wise. His sensei looked over at him and slurred something. The copy-nin was on his seventeenth. Even Naruto had limits, but it seemed Kakashi was a bottomless pit of tolerance. Any mere mortal would have died, hell, even a jinchuriki would have died. Well maybe Killer Bee would have been OK. He wasn't really normal either. Naruto had always wondered why he was constantly making a fool of himself with his bad poetry. Then one day Killer Bee was sober. That had been an interesting match.

Kakashi tugged at him again, this time more urgently. Naruto spun on his bar stool and squinted.

"Washa loogin at?" He slurred.

"I'm no loogin at no one." His teacher defended.

"Oh. S'okay."

Genma peered over his bar cautiously. It was a miracle that the 'Destructive Duo' as he nicknamed them hadn't started anything yet. As it was, he was tempted just to say something to piss on of them off. 'At least that way I can kick them out and be done with it. Then again they might just pass out. That's a lot of booze even for Kakashi.'

He decided to test his luck, and pulled his ace out of the hole. "Say, Kakashi. When's Anko expecting you home tonight?"

Alarm bells went off, even in his drunken state. That Anko thought he was on an overnight mission made no difference. His inebriated reasoning circumvented such unimportant details when his manhood was at stake.

Naruto also seemed to have forgotten his master's ploy. "Man you're sho dead."

Kakashi froze, then his face reddened in a rage. "SHE IS NOT DEAD!"

Naruto laughed. "No, no. You're so-"

"LET ME SHEE HER YOU BASHTARDS! LEMME SHEE HER!"

Genma took cover behind the bar, preparing for the worst. Maybe provoking Konoha's No. 1 ranking soloist was a bad idea. He seemed to be reliving some sort of trauma, though what it was, the senbon chewing ex-jonin hadn't the slightest. As far as he knew Kakashi had never given two shits about his 'wife', if she could be called that. If anything he expected the copy ninja would be overjoyed to be set free from her clutches. From the behavior he was exhibiting now, however, he couldn't be so sure.

"Shenshei! Calm down!" Naruto pleaded, though his sincerity was overshadowed by his efforts to contain his laughter.

"I WILL NOTSH CALM DOWN! I...I..." Kakashi stumbled off his barstool and hit the ground with a loud thud. He then proceeded to curl himself into a ball and rock himself back and forth. The look in his eyes was haunted and despairing. "Anko I'm sho shorry... pleash come back fer' me." He whispered. "Live fer me pleash. I'm shorry, shorry I didn'tsh ashk you thish beferr. Anko.. ifsh you lifsh pleash forgivsh me. We can have ourshevles a lifesh together pleash... pleash... marry me Anko."

Genma popped up from behind the bar in shear disbelief. What the hell was Kakashi slurring about? 'I thought she said she was pregnant. Could it be?'

Naruto beat him to the punch. "Shenshei! Didsh you marry her 'cause of that? I thought she wash gonner hava baby."

Kakashi paled. "WHAT? NO! NO! NO! I'M TOO YOUNG FOR COMMITMENT NOOOO!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and tried again. "She ishn't pregnant right now ya' fool."

The sharingan wielder paused his rant. "She ishn't?"

"No." Genma confirmed.

"Oh... so wash was I shayin?"

"Somethin' 'bout asking Anko to marrish you." Naruto prompted.

The Hatake shook his head vigorously and his eye widened in a look of bewilderment. Suddenly he shot up from his fetal position and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders. "She almosh died onesh. I realished that I loveshed her." His eye came into focus for once in the last twenty minutes. "Naruto!"

"H-hai shenshei?"

He brought his face inches from his ex-student. Naruto could smell the reek of alcohol even through the double facemasks. "Remember dis wordsh: A man doesn't know what he has until he loses it." He spoke the quote with flawless diction. It was clearly something that was heavily imprinted upon him. "You know who I'm talkinsh 'bout?"

Naruto hesitated. "Uhhh..."

"Good." He stumbled back to the floor and passed out.

"What da hell wash that about?" Naruto asked, turning to Genma, who looked just as astonished as he.

"I haven't the slightest idea, my friend. Not even the slightest..."

"I shee."

The young ANBU operative shrugged and finished his twelfth drink.

Genma grunted. "I'll take care of him this time. Besides, you'll have enough to handle getting home by yourself. You can pay your tab next time."

"Thanksh, Genma-shan." Naruto haphazardly stood and stumbled out of the establishment. 'What was that about?'

* * *

When Hinata arrived back at the apartment it was late. This was mostly due to the detour over to the barracks she had taken earlier. In her stupor she had forgotten she had moved in with Naruto. Then she'd had a hard time finding the place, given she had only been there a few times. After what seemed like hours she found herself opening the unlocked door and staggered into the living room. The lights were on and Naruto was lying passed out on the couch. She giggled despite herself. He did look kind of cute and innocent in his sleep, even if that wasn't an aspect of him she really cared for.

She walked into the kitchen, looking to get something to eat. Her stomach needed a good bolster if she didn't want to have a raging hangover in the morning. She opened the fridge to discover nothing in it. 'He cleaned it out for ramen and then forgot to get the... ramen. Baka.' She grumbled to herself something along the lines of 'shunnovah shtupid kage' and peered around for something else to eat. Fortunately he hadn't gotten rid of the fruit in the ceramic bowl. Doing her best not to make any noise, she removed the apple from its resting place until it found its way to her mouth. She bit into it to discover that the label sticker was still on it. Being drunk was still an interesting experience for the young heiress.

She sat down at the breakfast table to munch on her snack. Several minutes later she decided she was thirsty. She made her way over to the mini fridge/ wine cooler that stored Naruto's different chilled beverages. All that was left inside was a single bottle of high quality rice wine. She hesitated for a moment, then grabbed it despite herself. She placed it on the table and went to get a glass. She crossed the kitchen and withdrew one glass from a high cabinet. A loud snore from Naruto nearly made her drop it. Then she was struck with an idea.

She got a second glass and set it on the table. She poured sake into both vessels, managing not to spill even in her drunken daze. She was just beginning to come down. It was the perfect time to go up again. At least she thought so. She took one glass and crept over to where Naruto was sleeping. She giggled and put the cup in front of his nose.

Her partner sniffed and his expression turned to one of distress, and then, delight. His eyes shot open. "Shake?"

Hinata withdrew the glass. "Yes, Naru-chan. Sake. Come on." She smiled to herself. "We're going to havesh a toasht."

He frowned. "But I don't wash toast."

She looked dumbly at him. After a moment it clicked. "No... likesh a toasht, a cheer."

"Oh. Hokay."

He got up and overbalanced. Hinata had to side step to avoid his plummet face first into his floor. He picked himself off and scratched the back of his neck, a habit reminiscent of his youthful past. He followed the Hyuuga across the living room and around the kitchen's island to the breakfast table. He took the seat closest to the living room (it was the least distance to walk) and stared at the glass in front of him. Hinata sat opposite of him and rested her head on her hand, gazing into his eyes.

He broke the eye contact, more out of drunken focus issues than self-consciousness, then slurred: "Sho watcha toashtin 'bout."

"Ish a shecret." She said in a voice that felt like silk on his sensitive ears.

"Wanna gimme a clue?" He asked childishly.

"Havesh your drink and I'll thinkash 'bout it." She teased.

They clinked glasses, putting cracks in both of their respective drink holders, and downed the drink in several large gulps. This process was repeated two more times until the bottle was empty. Feeling the warm burn of liquid courage flow through her, Hinata moved out of her chair in a decisive moment of inebriated lucidity. She grabbed Naruto's hand and led him towards the living room again, being careful so she didn't trip over herself. When they reached the far end of the couch her luck ran out and she lost her balance on the corner of the low table and toppled onto the large brown leather beanbag. Naruto, who was even more out of it than her, went tumbling after. Somehow his body twisted crazily and he ended up below her.

"Shtill want tha' clue?" She whispered.

Naruto's blurred focus cleared for a few precious seconds. "Shure."

And then she was kissing him. Her lips were warm and moist with the flavor of rice wine. Naruto's eyes closed as he gave in instantly to her advance. His arms wrapped around her back and pulled her closer to him. Their lips mashed in a passionate frenzy. Hinata pressed harder until her teeth nearly ground into Naruto's. Her partner was dimly aware of the pain and cracked his mouth open. Her tongue invaded him and his head spun even faster from the sensations he was experiencing... or from the booze. Maybe both.

Their legs tangled as their tongues clashed in a battle for supremacy. Naruto locked his right leg around her left and spun them around so he was on top of her. He pressed his advance with renewed vigor and Hinata moaned deeply into him, clutching at his hair. When finally they parted, both were flushed beat red and gasping for breath.

"I'm gonna getsh the lightsh." Naruto slurred.

Hinata could only nod as she watched him cross the distance to the light switch, her eyes fixed on the way he carried himself- with a complete lack of grace. Of course, being in the state that she was, this looked incredibly sexy. The lights flicked off and Naruto made his way back, banging into the wall once one his way back. He did his best to ease himself back down and succeeded in somehow putting himself perpendicular to his counterpart. It was horribly uncomfortable, so he spun around, only to find his head now at her crotch instead. He growled in frustration and spun another 180 until his face was finally in the correct position.

Hinata sighed and pulled him close again, this time taking his lips gently and moaning softly with feminine content. Naruto seemed more docile as well, and kept an easy pressure on her lips. After a minute of slow and sensual lip lock he nipped at her bottom lip. She obliged him with a little moan, her body arching into his, as his tongue gently probed her. He grazed her teeth and sent a pleasant chill down her spine. Her tongue reached out and entered him, exploring something she had never been privy to in all her time as a shinobi. Some part of her in the back of her brain screamed that what she was doing was wrong, but she shut it out. The moment was too perfect to ruin just because some logical streak decided to butt in.

They switched positions again and she pressed her core against his and was satisfied with the grunt he rewarded her. They began a slow and steady rhythm of grinding and groping. An unfamiliar warmth was beginning to grow in her belly, and Hinata reveled in the feeling it gave her. She half groaned half purred her pleasure as her hands found Naruto's. She pinned his arms behind his head and pressed herself harder against him, exulting in the feeling of power she had over her partner. Naruto reacted by kissing her with greater fervor that had her gasping for breath until she was forced to break her mouths covetous hold on him.

She withdrew her torso and straddled him, pressing her hands against his chest. She panted as an involuntary buck from Naruto shot another bolt of pleasure that reverberated through her body, centered around her nether region. Suddenly she was aware of how flustered she was, that she was panting, that she was wet, and most of all, that she needed a drink.

She stood without warning and Naruto mumbled some sort of complaint that she promptly ignored. She wended her way back to the kitchen, miraculously dodging all of the inanimate obstacles in her path, and snatched up her empty sake glass. She moved to one of the dual sinks and flipped on the water purifier and filled her glass until it overflowed with the cool liquid. She drank deeply and poured a second glass. A satisfied exhale of breath marked her sated thirst and she deposited her emptied vessel into the other sink.

A growl from Naruto reminded her of her previous engagement and she hastily started her way back to his waiting embrace. She was half way there when her bladder urged her into the bathroom, in desperate need of release. She sat down on the toilet, then realized the lights were off. She got up and flicked the switch, then returned to her task. It took her a second to realize she had to lift the lid of the toilet first. This done, she sat down and started undoing the ties of her casual kimono. It slipped off and fell to the ground, leaving her clad only in her matching panties and bra. She was about to let loose when the sensation of being wet filtered down into her brain.

At first she thought she had slipped up and was terribly embarrassed. She reached down and felt with her right hand and upon further examination determined that this was not the case. Tentatively, she slid her fingers underneath her panties, touching the most intimate part of her body. A shock of pleasure stronger than any other she had felt thus far that night thrummed in her core. She pressed and rubbed slightly and the sensation increased. Curious, she withdrew her fingers and put them directly before her eyes for studying. They were slick with the wetness she had felt before. She realized it was something she had produced, and a distant memory reminded her of what it was.

Being a Hyuuga had its advantages and disadvantages. Having eyesight that could see through walls was a great thing to have. Unfortunately such a power was not exclusive to any one individual within the large grounds of the Hyuuga household. Prying eyes were everywhere, and the fantasies of young girls, while hidden in the mind, had alternate, more visible ways of being expressed. One night she had had difficulty sleeping and stumbled across the very thing she had now. At that moment a female servant of the branch family had come in and calmly informed her that such behavior was not appropriate in any girl, not to mention the heir to a prestigious clan. She had been somewhat sympathetic, and fortunately the secret had remained just that- secret.

Another memory, one of a 'girls' night out' with Sakura, Ino and Tenten, flashed into her head. They had been discussing their men in the bathhouse. Hinata had felt embarrassed and left out, but recalled many things they had spoken of. One of which was something along the lines of 'it makes me wet even thinking about it' a proclamation from Sakura about Sasuke. Hinata let out a relieved sigh.

She was normal.

She pulled her panties the rest of the way down and released. This done she cleaned herself, put her kimono back on, turned of the light, and walked out the door.

Her thoughts had distracted her, and she had forgotten why she had gotten up other than to go to the bathroom. The even breathing of her partner informed her that she must have come home to find Naruto passed out and was merely using the bathroom before retiring to bed. She scratched her head, something nagging that her conclusion wasn't quite right, but she shrugged it off.

She let out a sleepy yawn and found her way to bed. She passed out before she knew what hit her.

In the morning both members of Raven Name would remember nothing but a nasty hangover.


	15. Father Knows Best

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi considered himself a patient man.

From the time he was young he had been trained to be a firm, responsible, and respectable leader of the Hyuuga clan. In an imperfect world it was up to him to maintain the perfection of the Hyuuga. His brother's death was (in his opinion) his only failing. The death of his wife had been tragic, yes, but it was an unforeseeable event. He had loved her perhaps, even if it was an arranged marriage, and her death had weighed heavily on his soul. He saw so much of her in his eldest daughter that it was often painful to look at her. Her mild manner, weak body and negligible conviction were all reminders of his beloved. It was for this reason that he was so harsh on her. If she was a failure, he was a failure, but more importantly, his wife would have been a failure.

That was not acceptable.

For years he had poured himself into teaching her the proper way to carry the proud name of heiress to the Hyuuga. As she grew older it became obvious that she did not have the makings of a good leader. Her nature had somehow been beyond his ability to influence. It was only natural for him to dismiss her for her younger sister. Hinabi was strong where Hinata was weak, aloof when Hinata was humble and detached where Hinata was vulnerable. On the whole of things he regretted that Hinata had been born first. He thought of her weakness as Kami's punishment for the death of his brother.

Sometimes the sight of her was so unbearable he wouldn't talk to her for days. There had even been times when he had been tempted to place the Caged Bird Seal upon her forehead and be rid of her. Her decision to enroll in the shinobi academy had postponed this decision. However, as the years passed, it became apparent that no level of training would forge her into the hard precision instrument he required to carry on the main branch of the family.

He decided that the chuunin examination would be her last chance. Then Orochimaru had attacked Konoha and again he withheld passing judgment on her. It only disturbed him further when she made chuunin the next time she took the exam. From then on it had been like a carefully played game of shogi. Just when he thought he had finally seen all she had to offer she would surprise him. During Pain's attack on Konoha Hinata had shown near suicidal bravery, stepping in front of a foe she had no chance of defeating. It was an impressive show of honor and courage, but the branch member assigned to protect her had told Hiashi the real story.

She was in love with the demon.

It was the last straw. The moment she recovered Hiashi had steeled himself to do what he should have done seven years before; and she did it again. A week after her recovery something had changed in her eyes. The cold demeanor of the Hyuuga enveloped her like a shroud of dignity and her conviction as a kunoichi increased exponentially. At first he had dismissed it as a momentary burst of determination, but after a year of continuous training it was clear that it was more than a phase. Hinata was finally living up to the Hyuuga name.

When she had made jonin he had been pleased. He had even told her so. It was the first compliment he could remember giving his eldest in years. He was content to let her marry then, for it was just after her sixteenth year that she was allowed to begin accepting suitors. Yet it had not been enough for her. Her considerable ambition had taken her the route of the ANBU ops. As happy as he was for her to bring further honor to the Hyuuga, he began to worry. At some point she had begun challenging all of her suitors to matches. One by one they fell before her and were taken off of the list. The only one she had not defeated was one he had specifically instructed her not to. It had taken the combined wills of the elders, himself and the Rokudaime to convince her. He thought he had her then.

He was wrong.

His eldest had another ace up her sleeve: the demon boy. Somehow she had managed to pressure him into putting the Uzumaki on the list. No sooner had this occurred then the Kyuubi menace challenged the only other suitor to a match and obtained victory. He had been furious, but he could do nothing. Exchanging words with the monster would only lower the status of the Hyuuga and that was unacceptable. Thus, Hinata became a blemish on the golden polish of the Hyuuga name. She was either an asset or a liability.

Like the Byakugan, Hiashi only saw in black and white.

However, Hyuuga Hiashi considered himself a patient man.

Let her join ANBU and spread the name of the mighty Hyuuga. Let her live the dream a little longer. What was another year?

But Hiashi was also a man of opportunity. When the risk is slight and the possible gain great, only a fool would not play his hand.

Hiashi was no fool. He knew of his daughter's great hubris and he would exploit it for the glory of the Hyuuga. Today would mark a great day in the clan's history.

"Pardon me, Hiashi-sama. Danzo-sama is here to see you."

Hiashi glanced at the branch member and nodded. "I will see him now."

"Hai, Hiashi-sama."

Roughly two minutes later the old war hawk and unofficial leader of Konohagakure sat down opposite of Hiashi, who currently resided behind his desk. Both men locked eyes, as if testing each other's strength. A pin could have been heard dropping. After what seemed like minutes Danzo let out a little wheeze and settled back further into his chair.

"You're almost as cold as I am Hiashi." He observed.

"Hiashi-sama." The Hyuuga leader corrected.

"Forgive me. I meant no disrespect." He replied with little sincerity.

The branch member reappeared with two steaming cups of black tea. Elaborate designs were gilded into the grooves of the ornate china. Danzo did little to hide the disgust on his face. He had always been a man who lived a spartan lifestyle.

"This is good." He began, making no attempt to bleed honesty into his small talk. "What is it?"

"Dark Blossom from the north western edge of Tea country." The Hyuuga informed him. "Do you favor it?"

"No." The dictator answered.

Hiashi stared at him. Or through him. Danzo couldn't tell which. "I take it you wish to discuss business then?"

"Astute."

The master of the Hyuuga raised his chin. "Do not mock me."

"I don't give a damn if I offend your Hyuuga pride, Hiashi-san. I arranged this for you. Only a Hyuuga would ask for a favor and believe his champion owed him a debt."

"You have the great honor of aiding the noble Hyuuga. Do not forget the sway I have over the council."

"Do not forget," Danzo uttered sharply, "that it was I who kept the Hyuuga from going bankrupt when Konoha fell. This is just another favor you owe me Hiashi."

"It will be noted," Hiashi said gravely, "that you are a benefactor."

Danzo took another small sip of the pungent tea. He narrowed his single workable eye and studied the man before him once again. Dealing with a Hyuuga was always tricky business. At last he determined that Hiashi had given him as close of an acknowledgement as one could hope. He set the teacup on the desk and stood.

"It will be noted," he mimicked with a hint of sarcasm, "that you owe me any two favors I may request."

"If my gambit succeeds then there is no favor that outweighs what I will gain for the Hyuuga."

As Danzo let himself out Hiashi read the words he said under his breath: "If she lives."

The Hyuuga smiled. 'She will live. She will live and she will be brought to heel.'

* * *

It was a day like any other. Shinobi patrolled the streets and vendors attempted to scrape out a living while civilians moved through the monotony of their daily routines. Academy students snoozed under the watchful eyes of uncaring instructors and administrators silently cursed the endless paperwork involved with running a village. Painful cries of genin training mixed with the grunts of exertion from upper echelon ninjas honing their skills.

However, one pair of shinobi were doing something anything but ordinary.

Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto were taking a day off.

The sunshine filtered into the clearing they had found, gently reflecting off the morning dew that kissed the lush grass beneath them. Wistful sighs escaped from both shinobi, revealing that they did indeed enjoy life outside of ANBU, even if they were loath to admit it. Nonetheless, a pair of workaholics appreciated a day of peace. When the missions all began to blur into one giant conglomerate of pain, sweat, reports and exhaustion, a change of pace was most welcomed.

The past two weeks had been just that. The day after Ichiraku reopened was one of the most miserable days in both ANBU operatives' careers. Nursing a wretched hangover while sprinting cross-country to deliver an urgent message to the Fire Daimyo was definitely something to be avoided. Hinata had been so violently sick she had thrown up multiple times while tree hopping. Naruto didn't look much better, but he managed to only lose it once, and that was after they had stopped to rest. Washing the puke smell out of the top portion of her clothing while her partner laughed at her was not something the Hyuuga heiress considered a good time. Naruto had made it up to her in the form of a great hangover remedy recipe. Namely some concoction that tasted like utter shit but stopped her from dry heaving and feeling like her stomach was going to exit her body via her mouth.

That they had only received pay for a B rank mission was just the icing on the cake. No sooner had they banked their checks then they were summoned for yet another mission- this time guarding an advanced caravan through dangerous territory between Iwa and Suna- no man's land in shinobi geographics. It had been fairly uneventful, other than a single attack by two B rank Bingo Book missing-nins from Kusogakure. The battle hand ended before it began and provided very little relief for the disgruntled duo.

Upon their return they were assigned with yet another 'bitch-nin task' as Naruto liked to describe them. Both ANBU were halfway between believing they had shit for luck with missions, or that Shikamaru just liked to piss them off. Naruto was currently leaning more towards the latter while Hinata was more skeptical and still favored the former. In either case, infiltrating Kiri territory to scout for possible pirate activity was a joke.

Did Konoha understand that they were assigning one of their two 'Shadows' to missions where their talents were being wasted? Probably not. 'Bureaucracy is a bitch.' Another of Naruto's sayings that Hinata quickly adopted.

So when they were ordered to take a day off... well damn. Who in their right mind would say no? Better yet, who not in their right mind would say no? The Namikaze and Hyuuga heirs certainly wouldn't voice a complaint.

"Mmm." Hinata vocalized pleasantly.

"Hmm?" Naruto promptly responded.

The beautiful woman he shared the large picnic blanket with gazed over at him and smiled. "This is nice."

The blonde nodded and removed a grape from their basket, popping it into his mouth and savoring the moist flavor. "Its not bad."

Hinata poked him in the side. "Stop being contrary for the sake of being..." She paused, looking for the word.

"Contrary?" Her counterpart supplied.

"Well, yes." She said at last, for lack of a better word.

Naruto rolled onto his side and rested his head on one side on his knuckles. He gave her a playful smirk. "But it's in my nature."

Hinata sighed. "I guess you're right. You _are_ an antisocial."

"Sociopath." Naruto corrected. "_You're_ the antisocial."

"You got me there." She said, grinning. Then her expression softened. "Say, Naru-san?"

"Eh, Hina-chan?"

"What do you think your life would have been like if you never became a shinobi?"

"Boring."

"No, really." She insisted.

"Well..." He began. "Guess it's hard for me to say. I mean, I'm so used to my lifestyle that it's hard to fathom what it'd be like to be..."

"Yes?" Hinata prompted.

"Well, normal." Naruto admitted. "Y'know?"

Hinata thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Actually there was a time when a shinobi was the last thing I wanted to be."

Naruto leaned forward, intrigued. "You mean... you didn't want to be a shinobi? Like, when you were a kid?"

"Nope." She chirped.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Hinata asked innocently.

"Well what did you want to be?"

Hinata gave him a teasing look; something akin to one of Ino's word traps. "Do you really want to know?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, giving into the ploy. "Yes." He said flatly. "Enlighten me."

"Well," she stretched the word to the fullest, "I wanted to be... a singer!"

A sweat-drop formed on Naruto's head.

"Something wrong?" Hinata inquired.

"Sorry, I just can't see some shy girl wanting to be a performer of any kind. I mean, you practically jumped at your own shadow. Kami knows you fainted whenever you got too close to me. I don't even want to know what would happen if you were up in front of thousands of people. You would probably just die on the spot."

Hinata laughed. "Yeah, probably. But kids are unreasonable. When I was little my okaa-san used to sing to me all the time. She had such a pretty voice- I wanted to be just like her. After she died that dream died with her pretty quickly. Still, I think it would be fun to be a singer for a day."

"Can you sing?" Naruto emphasized. "Because I would pay to watch you sing flat in front of an audience."

"Well, I think so. I don't know really. I mean, I haven't sung in a few years. My voice has probably changed since then."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "A lot more than your voice has changed, Hina-san."

She gazed off into space. "True. That's very true."

Silence settled on them for a while. Hinata continued to stare at something only she could see while Naruto stared at her.

With the light playing over the milk white texture of her skin she was truly a sight to behold. It could have been minutes or hours he watched her. The beauty of her face, her eyes, her hair, her lips, the delicate musculature of her arms... it was all exquisite. He drank in the steady rise and fall of her chest, something he had given up trying not to look at months ago. His eyes dropped lower, viewing the subtle contours of her hips and her abdomen, down to her long legs that couldn't have looked more perfect had they been carved out of marble by a master craftsmen.

Since when had he ever observed a person for so long outside of a mission? He couldn't help himself and it was unnerving. He had come to terms with the fact that he was attracted to her... at least physically. 'I mean, who wouldn't be?' He reasoned. 'There's nothing any guy in Konoha wouldn't do to sleep with her... is there?...I don't want that... do I?' His thoughts went into a tailspin from there, plummeting him into a world of self-doubt and mixed feelings. He thought he would go crazy from the loops his mind was doing. 'Damn it... how the hell to normal people deal with this shit?'

Finally she spoke, interrupting his troubling line of thought.

"You're staring." She said softly. "And it's really obvious."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask but she answered first. "Byakugan. I checked a while ago."

Her eyes met his and he let out an uneasy breath, an uncomfortable pressure growing in his chest. "Gomen. I.. couldn't help it I guess."

Hinata smiled genuinely. It was the special smile; one reserved only for him. The corners of her lips drew up just the slightest bit and her eyes and face glowed with a subtle warmth. The smile of sharing.

"Its alright. I don't mind." She paused and looked away. "Do you... like... looking at me?"

Naruto was having difficulty coping with the sensation of his heart feeling like it was going to beat its way out of his chest. The blood in his ears pounded loud enough to impair his hearing. 'Its happening again... this feeling.'

He spoke slowly. "I'm... not sure."

She looked back at him. The expression on her face was so vulnerable that for a moment Naruto thought he was locking eyes with the younger Hinata... the happier Hinata. It was enough to make him hesitate even more. To really force him to think about it. Thinking was never something he was comfortable with. It only led to more confusion. But if it was for Hinata...

'For Hinata...' He played with the phrase, rolling it around in his head. 'For Hinata... why for Hinata?' He was still terribly uncomfortable, and he felt as if every second was a horror, a void in space where something unknown lurked. A presence that was like the future waiting to happen, like watching the serenity in the flash of a sword before it took another life.

"I guess I do." He said finally. "Though, I'm not sure why I do."

Something was turning behind Hinata's eyes and he could see it. Whatever it was must have been a revelation of some sort, for she suddenly jumped to her feet and offered him a hand up.

"Let's go somewhere Naru-kun."

"Go somewhere?" He asked, sounding impossibly stupid to himself.

"Yeah. Anywhere."

An image flashed in his mind and he instantly relayed it. "I used to spend a lot of time at the top of the Hokage monument as a kid."

Hinata squeezed his hand, then let go. After a few minutes they had packed up their picnic and began to walk to the hulking battle standard of Konoha.

On the way Hinata's hand somehow snuck its ways into Naruto's. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. The two walked in a peaceful silence, enjoying the simple presence of one another. They strolled back into town and meandered a bit, taking their time to reach their destination. It was a slow day. A day for them. A day when they could just relax and cherish the most basic of things others could enjoy. And yet, silently, they were both thinking the same thing.

'What the hell am I doing?'

Neither were used to mutual affection, even if it was something as trivial as holding hands. Still, it was natural; perhaps the most disturbing thing about it. A paradox in and of itself: something natural that was... unnatural. At least for two ANBU anyway.

They rounded a corner, about to walk the straightaway that would lead to the monument when something broke them out of their reverie.

"Oi-Hinata!" A figure, some sort of dog humanoid appeared before them, skidding in the dirt path and forcing them both to cough. "Neji sent me to find you."

Hinata glowered at him. "Hi, Kiba-kun. How are you?"

The Inuzuka rubbed his finger against the bottom of his nose. "You know me, just fine. Doing the regular stuff... well Akamaru's with Hana today so I guess that's a little different..."

"You said Neji sent you?" Naruto interrupted before the canine shinobi got too far into a tangent.

"Oh, yeah!" He focused for a second and then snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered... then focused again. "Are you guys..." He said pointing from one to the other and gesturing to their hands. "Y'know... together?"

In a synchronized movement Raven Name looked at each other, looked at their hands, looked at each other again and dropped their hands.

"No... K-kiba-kun. Why say that?" The feminine aspect stuttered. "No. And it's not your business either." The male side of the equation said at the same time.

Kiba took a step back and scratched his head. "O...kay?" When there was no response he continued. "Well, Neji said if I saw you to tell you that your father is expecting you."

Hinata smacked herself in the forehead. "Of course! I'm such a baka." She turned to Naruto. "Sorry Naru-kun. I'll see you later... How could I have forgotten it was the twenty seventh?" She cursed under her breath and took off towards the Hyuuga grounds.

As she ran off Kiba and Naruto were left standing in the dust.

"Twenty... seventh?" Naruto asked dumbly.

Kiba glared at him. "You know for being an elitist snob you really are an idiot. The twenty seventh of December- ring any bells?"

Naruto wracked his brain. "Nope. Nothing."

Kiba looked up and let out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. "Hinata's birthday you dope."

"..."

"..."

"HOLY SHIT!" In the blink of an eye the blonde had popped out of existence with a leaf shunshin.

Kiba's eyebrow twitched. "He's crazy."

The dog user watched as the air cleared and the dust fell. He didn't know why, but it struck him as comic and sad at the same time.

He had once liked Hinata- he knew that. His last attempt at her had been two years ago when he challenged her to a duel. He had been pretty sure she had set aside any ideas of being with Naruto at that point and he put his full effort into the fight. It was barely a match. Hinata had beaten him the second he charged in with his fang over fang technique.

'And this jerk,' he thought, suddenly feeling angry, 'doesn't give two shits about her! Damn it Hinata! Why'd you have to care about him? Why did you have to change yourself because of him? Why'd you have to get partnered with him?' After a few more moments of serious (if irrational) contemplation he found the answer: the look Hinata had given him when she won... a cold smile and a sadistic glint in her eye as she licked his blood off of her hands.

"They're both crazy." He said out loud.

Kiba concluded that he would not interfere.

He couldn't make it any worse than it already was.

* * *

Little had changed since she moved out of the Hyuuga manor. The branch members still walked with their heads down. The walls and floors were impeccably clean. The elaborate furnishings were polished and the gardens well kempt. In fact, it didn't look like it had changed at all. 'Well there's a lock on my old room... but that's it.' Her father seemed to have taken the change in stride. It baffled her to no end why he didn't just hand Hanabi the title of heiress. She wanted it; not Hinata.

'Maybe it's the council.' She debated with herself for the nth time on the subject. 'After all father hates me... or at least he doesn't love me.' She paused her thinking and stared unseeing at a portrait of her mother. 'No one since kaa-san has. Why should he?'

A throat clearing noise behind her indicated a branch member's presence. She turned and followed a young man who led her to her father's study. He bowed and gestured to the screen, which was ajar.

"Enter."

The familiar fear began to seep into her. No matter how much older or powerful she got, for some reason her father's reprimands always made her cringe. She was sure that this meeting would be no different.

Hiashi looked up from a letter he was addressing, gave her a slight nod, and continued. In the stifling silence Hinata felt stiff as she sat in the chair opposite of him. No position was comfortable when she was next to her father.

"The Hokage tells me you have been doing well in ANBU. This is true?" He asked, sounding completely detached.

"Hai, Otou-san."

"I have been told you have not failed a mission."

"It is true." Hinata said quietly, falling into her timid alter ego.

"And who is your partner?"

Hinata froze like a dear in the headlights.

"Under no circumstances should you tell your father who your partner is. The consequences will be disastrous."

Shikamaru's words echoed through her head.

She steeled herself. "That is classified, Otou-san."

Hiashi looked up from his writing and pushed his materials aside. His expression had not changed, but Hinata could tell he was angry.

"I am your father. You will tell me your partners name so I may know if the Hokage has honored my agreement."

"You will be trained by the strongest. Only under this stipulation will I let you remain in ANBU." Her father's words chorused with Shikamaru's.

"F-father I c-can't..."

"You can and you will." He replied firmly.

"Its... its..." Images of Naruto flashed through her head. Naruto making a fresh kill as the moonlight reflected off of his pale skin. Naruto, laughing when she accidentally wasted a kunai on a rabbit. Naruto... Naruto... 'Naruto... why... am I afraid? Do I care if we can't work together anymore? Do I care... at all?'

"Well?" Hiashi prompted.

Hinata snapped back to herself. "Gomen. I cannot tell you."

Hiashi straightened in his chair- a grand show of displeasure on his part. 'This will not do... or can I turn it to my advantage?'

"Very well."

Hinata was struck speechless. It was the first time she had ever stood up to her father without compromise. Was it always this easy and she never knew?

She opened her mouth to speak.

"I have arranged for you to meet a suitor today. I presume you wish to challenge him?" Hiashi asked, appearing to shift topics.

That caught her off guard. "Well... yes. I always do."

Hiashi's eyes glinted dangerously. "Then what do you say we make a little wager?"

"A-a wager Otou-san?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Hiashi answered smoothly. "If you defeat your opponent then I will never inquire as to your partner again and you will remain in ANBU with my blessing. However, should you lose, you will not only tell me the name of your partner, but you will marry today's suitor."

"What about the rule concerning suitors challenging suitors?"

"We will void it for this match..." Hiashi stared through her. "Are you... afraid?"

Hinata sensed a trap, but her pride wouldn't allow her to back down. Was this what being Naruto felt like?

"No." She stated, trying to sound as confident as possible. "I accept."

And then he did something that terrified her. Something that sent a shiver down her spine and made her very soul quiver in fear.

Hiashi smiled.

"Good." He raised his voice. "You may come in now."

Hinata stifled a gasp. The man who walked in was massive. He must have been six foot six and well over three hundred pounds. The muscles on his body were so large they were nearly grotesque. He was wearing circular dark shades and had a tattoo on his left cheek. He was tanned with blonde hair and a well kempt beard. Multiple swords were strapped to his back and a Kumogakure hitai-ate decorated his forehead.

"Yo girlie! I heard you wuz a great fighta'! But you'll be intimidated when you witness my mighta'!"

A sweat-drop formed on the back of Hinata's head. 'Speaking in forced rhymes? Who the hell is this basket case? He looks like a total moron.'

Hiashi stood from behind his desk. "Kirābī, I would like to introduce my eldest. Hinata. Daughter, this is Kirābī: brother of the Raikage and a shinobi worthy of praise even amongst the Hyuuga."

"I... am most honored... to meet you."

The man struck a pose. "S'alright girlie! By the way- iz Killa' Bee. Kirābī is so not jazzin', you feel my cuz'?"

Hinata could only stare.

'What in the name of Kami have I gotten myself into?'


	16. Jewelry and a Warning

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

In all honesty his outburst had been for the sole benefit of the annoying dog user. Of course he knew it was her birthday. Of course he had gotten her something. Of course he had bribed Shikamaru so he could have the day off with Hinata.

'With Hinata...'

He hopped from building to building, humming a happy tune as he went. Such behavior was becoming more and more commonplace as of late. At first he had tried to stop it, rebuking himself whenever he acted unlike a professional ANBU of Konoha. Yet, for all his efforts, it continued to grow in frequency. Eventually he found that it was hopeless. So much of him had changed in the past few months. What was one more little habit?

His thoughts shifted to her.

Ever since she walked through that door his life had never been the same. Initially he had thought it was a joke. Any moment Shikamaru would have a laugh at his expense and he would call in his real partner. Yet, as he saw her standing there, that serious expression on her face, he realized he was wrong. Besides, she had called him 'Dark Fox' and his codename was classified information.

A whole year. He would be stuck with her for a whole entire year. He couldn't accept it.

With bitterness in his heart he took her to Genma's. His original intent had been to get her drunk so she would make a fool of herself. Then he could file for her to be withdrawn from his charge. For all his scheming it hadn't happened that way. When he looked at her he was reminded of the shy girl who had stood up to her older cousin. She had been so like him in that moment. No matter how he tried to banish the connection from his mind, he couldn't. In the end he had given her a chance.

It had got worse.

She kissed him. She actually kissed him and he liked it. He _really_ liked it.

It hadn't bothered him much in the first few days, or the first week for that matter. It was only after his confession that it started to weigh heavy on him. He knew he liked it and he didn't know why. It had taken him nearly two months to admit he was physically attracted to her. It was a strange sort of relief. On one hand he had eliminated the possibility of having feelings for her, on the other hand... 'I really wish ANBU gear wasn't so revealing.'

Kami himself couldn't have devised a more troublesome arrangement.

'Speaking of troublesome...'

It had to be a set up. No matter how much pressure Hiashi might have put on the Hokage, Shikamaru would never forge a partnership if it wasn't tactically sound. 'But Hinata isn't heavy on genjutsu... if anything she's more of the same. The only real asset she has is the Byakugan...' Perhaps Shikamaru had some ulterior motive. If he did, Naruto knew it was beyond his ability to comprehend. Maybe Kakashi could, but he was the only one who was able to keep the Nara off balance (Naruto was saving up his blackmail for the day when he would ask the copy-nin how he did it.)

A thought crossed his mind and he laughed mentally. Maybe the Rokudaime and the sharingan wielder were in cahoots to make him suffer. He wouldn't be surprised if they were.

He touched down in front of his apartment complex and walked inside, rounding the stairs to the fifth floor. He took out his room key and opened the door.

'Now where did I put it?'

Five minutes of searching later he found his quarry. 'Ah ha!'

Under the bed was a box; not that the box was important. Obviously it was what was inside that mattered. He removed the lid and revealed its contents. A beautiful silver choker with amethyst studs was sitting on a thin pad of cotton. To the side of it were earrings in the same fashion, shaped like orchids. The last item... well maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to give her that. Then again... 'It was hers in the first place. She wont take it the wrong way.' The white gold engagement ring... or false engagement technically.

He smiled.

Shopping was so easy when you already knew what someone liked. He had seen her reaction once. He was sure she would be stunned instead of merely dazed this time. He pictured the look on her face when he would give them to her. Her face would light up and her eyes would go wide. She would stumble on her words and get flustered. The very thought of it already had him grinning ear to ear. She had thought he had given them back to the jeweler. He had never had time to do so and now he was happy he hadn't. Kami was she going to get a shock. Since when were playing pranks on his partner so fun?

He stopped. 'Since when is giving a present a prank?' He asked himself. 'What else would it be? Its not like I enjoy giving her things. Maybe the chakra gear, but that was for combat purposes... yeah. It's definitely not like that and even if it was... isn't getting a friend a present on her birthday normal? I'll have to ask Sakura. Wait a minute- I'm considering going to Sakura for advice? I am going crazy.'

A clicking sound drew his attention to the front door. It flung open to reveal the victim of his aforementioned intended 'prank.' Naruto calmly put the lid back on the box, reactivated the anti-penetration seal (for the Byakugan) and shoved it back under the bed.

He was almost to the door of his room when she noticed him.

"Eh? You're here?" She asked tonelessly.

"Yeah. Weren't you supposed to go see your father or something?"

"I did." She paused in front of her room.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What did he want?"

She looked at him coldly, then changed her expression to one of agitation. "A match with a suitor."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't it you who normally sets that up?"

"Yeah..." She replied slowly. "This is a unique circumstance."

Naruto's face darkened. "He wants you to throw the fight?"

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. We just made a little wager is all."

"A wager?"

"Remember how Shikamaru said I shouldn't tell father about my partner?"

"Let me guess. Father started asking questions."

"In a nut shell he said he would drop the questions if I beat this guy."

"And if you lose?"

Hinata hesitated. She turned the handle of her door and opened it. "I'll have to marry him."

"And you agreed?" Naruto asked, incredulous.

"Yes, some foreigner." she replied, sounding slightly sheepish. "Don't worry, he looks like a total push over."

Naruto was half way between shouting at her and staying silent. For a moment he teetered on the edge before deciding on the latter. Hinata was a good judge of character. If she said the guy was a push over then he wasn't particularly concerned. He gave her his 'do what you want' look and went to go microwave some cup ramen. Three minutes later the sweet broth was cooling and Naruto was salivating over it at the breakfast table. A glass of water sated his thirst while he waited the temperature to drop below scalding. He was just breaking his chopsticks and going for the first bite when Hinata reappeared.

She dressed in her full ANBU gear, minus the mask. 'Guess she's not taking any chances. She's even brought all of her projectile weapons.'

He had only ever seen Hinata draw a kunai once. The bottom line was that her family taijutsu was so strong that she seldom needed any additional equipment other than herself. 'Your body is your weapon after all. Shinobi guideline 43.'

"Want a bite before you go kick his ass?" He offered.

"No thanks. I'm supposed to meet them in the old arena in ten minutes."

'The old arena? The one that was almost leveled by Pain's attack? Why would they need a space that big?' He frowned. Hiashi had to be up to something. "Aren't the matches normally done in the Hyuuga compound's sparring grounds?"

"Yes, but father insisted." She said as she walked towards the door.

"Mind if I watch?"

"Go ahead." She shot him a faux-haughty look. "After all, the Hyuuga _are_ the strongest in Konoha."

Naruto withheld his concern. 'But this guy isn't from Konoha...'

She took off and he followed. His body was on autopilot as his mind worked over the idea of the suitor. Was he actually weak? Or was it a trap? He was almost positive that it wasn't the former, but who could be strong enough to pose a threat to Hinata? No holes barred, she was pretty tough. It would have to be someone of exceptional caliber. An ace from another country. 'But who...?'

Loud shouting in the street below him distracted him from his thoughts. Some guy was causing a crowd to riot around him. 'What an idiot.' He paused on the next rooftop to get a better look. Hinata continued on without pause. When he saw who it was his face lit up into a devious smile. 'What's he doing here? Whatever it is, I got to exploit this opportunity.'

He jumped down to the street and landed behind the man.

"Ya'll need ta loosin up an' take some pills. You just can't 'ppreciate ma' skillz."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Every time he saw him his rhymes just got worse.

"Yo."

The man spun around. The ridiculous look on his face instantly melted into a fierce smile. Naruto was crushed in a bear hug before he could get another word out. He had forgotten about that.

"How's it hanging ma' 'churiki brother? How long its been since we seen one another?"

Naruto managed to slip out of his grip. He gasped for breath and rubbed his ribs. Damn that man was strong.

"Dunno. Over a year I think. How are things in Rai, Bee?"

Kirābī pouted. "Ma' brother still trying to rein me in. But Bee's groove is still happenin'."

"Your album finally got released?"

The man's aura flared and steam came out of his nostrils. "People aint got no respect for good rhyme. It released, but I aint made a dime."

Naruto patted him on the shoulder. "There, there. What are you doing here in Konoha, my friend? Raikage have you playing emissary again?" 'Shit that was almost a rhyme... he has a way of spreading it like a virus.'

"Nah. Some old man wants me to marry his daughter. She is hot, and an alliance would be-"

"WHAT? You're Hinata's opponent." Any feeling of nostalgia he had for the man disintegrated that instant. Warning bells screamed in his mind. 'There's no way she can win. Hiashi you despicable FUCK! I'll... I'll!'

"What's wrong bro, you're turning red... keep it up and you'll be de-"

Naruto gripped Kirābī by the shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. "That's my partner you're dealing with... if you hurt her..."

The sword user backed up and waved his arms in a negative motion. "I can't use it here."

It curved Naruto's anger only slightly. 'He will never throw a fight and even if he doesn't us his beast, he's immune to the jyuken! It's a total mismatch! I have to warn her!'

"Hey, Bee. Think you can give me a few minutes before you show up at the arena?"

"Okay..."

"Thanks!"'

Kirābī watched his 'brother' go with concern written all over his face. 'I think my brother needs to get laid. He is way too tense.'

Hinata waited impatiently at the arena. She wanted this over and done with. Then she could get back to enjoying her birthday with Naruto.

'With Naruto... I wonder if he got me a present?' She made a sour expression. 'Baka! Why do you care?'

"Hina-san!" Naruto landed directly behind her.

"Naru-kun?" She asked in genuine surprise. "What took you so long?"

"Hina-san!" He grabbed her shoulders. "That guy from Kumo. You can't fight him!"

"Naru-kun what are you-"

"You don't understand Hina-san! He's like me. This guy fought me to a stalemate before. You can't win!"

Hinata's ivory skin became even paler. "What?"

"Just forfeit the match!" He pleaded.

"I can't. Father will make me marry him. He can't be that tough." She said, trying to steel herself.

"You... you're really not going to back down are you?"

She removed his hands from her shoulders. "No, Naru-kun. I can't and I wont."

'I can't tell her about his demon...' Naruto's expression was grave. "He wont get tired, and he wont go down from ordinary attacks. You'll have to win by knockout."

"Na-"

"His weakness is tactics. Stay ahead of him and present him the obvious. Your best chance is for him to defeat himself."

Hinata gritted her teeth (more out of annoyance than anticipation). "Alright. I'll be careful."

A loud clap of thunder sounded through the arena. Killer Bee appeared in the center in a lightning body flicker.

Hinata walked down to meet him.

From the opposite side of the stadium another Byakugan wielder was looking on with great interest. 'Interesting... what is the Kyuubi-child doing here? No matter, he cannot fight this battle for her. Danzo, you'd best not disappoint me.'

Hinata reached the center, roughly ten yards away from Kirābī. She bowed ever so slightly.

"Ready?" She said in a loud voice.

Kirābī let out a whoop. "GO!"


	17. The Strongest in Konoha

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Ready?" Her opponent asked in a loud voice.

"GO!" They shouted in unison.

Hinata didn't waste a second. 'Naruto may be underestimating me, but that doesn't make his advice any less sound. I won't give that mountain of muscle a second to spit out his poor rhyme schemes. I'll take that attitude and jam it down his throat!'

The instant the word left his mouth she body flickered behind him and did a full powered jyuken to his back. She watched void of emotion as he began to slump forward. It was a grim reminder that most battles ended in a single exchange of blows. With a move like that he wouldn't even be able to stand. As he reached the point of toppling over he placed one foot forward… and moved his hand to rub his back.

"Huh? What's this?" He said.

The Killer Bee turned around to face her with a confused look.

He smiled stupidly.

"Girl you're quick! I'm gonna have to show you a trick!"

'WHAT?' was the only thing that could compute for her. There was no way he could take a hit like that and just rub it off like a sore muscle. She had hit the mark; she never missed. Nonetheless, the beat poet blade fighter had pivoted and sprang into his attack.

In a blink all seven of his swords were unsheathed and brought to bear. A rapid-fire kata of stabs and slashes forced Hinata back, ducking and weaving between the blows. One came so close it cut her cheek, while another sliced off a few strands of her bangs. She was giving ground as quick as she could, but even in his crazy stance, Bee was able to keep up with her retreat. His moves were slowly cornering her- the pattern narrowing her dodging options each time. When a fast horizontal blow came from two sides Hinata did a deep back bend. A vertical strike seemed damning, but she continued the motion into a back-hand-spring, kicking off of Kirābī's chest for additional thrust and throwing off his assault. The result was a near failure; her nose touched the ground because the extra push had sent her down as well as out. Fortunately she was able to tuck into a tighter spin and landed on her feet, skidding backward and bringing a hand down for support.

'Damn. I didn't miss, I know I didn't. I'm going to have to shut down his whole system to even have a chance of slowing him.' She increased the flow of chakra to her eyes, enhancing her Byakugan even further. What she saw shocked her. 'His coils are huge! Bigger than Naruto's! No wonder he didn't feel that! I'm going to have to use twice the normal chakra to disturb the flow of his network.'

"What you looking at girl? Is it my body, makes you-"

"Want to hurl." She snapped.

Killer Bee looked hurt.

"But-"

"No more talking!"

She rushed him again, using chakra to boost her speed. She made a single hand sign and a puff of smoke covered her before she reappeared. It seemed as if it had done nothing. Killer Bee charged to meet her and began another elaborate dance of flashing steel. The two met and for a moment it looked like Hinata might break through his defense. Then a quick stab caught her off guard and got her through the abdomen. Killer Bee did not look surprised.

He twisted the sword in her gut. "Shadow clones..." He said slowly. "Are so not happenin'."

Sure enough, the clone dispelled and the real Hinata appeared directly behind it. Kirābī had not expected this, he had been sure she would try and target his exposed flank. She had made him think one step too far ahead, then backtracked her own plan to fool him. It was a tactic she had seen Shikamaru use to great effect (she had begun playing shogi with him regularly when Shino had been unable to fill the gap). If she was even going to stand a chance against him she would have to always be a step ahead tactically, like the shadow user.

That alone would not be enough. She would have to be bold and take risks too. For that she would look to Naruto. Nothing ever fazed him. No matter how bleak it looked she would persevere. But the fight had only begun; it wasn't time to get desperate yet.

She ducked his attempt to stop her advance and shot up next to him at point blank. The reverse edge of his swords thwacked into her back, but he was left wide open. She hit him with the masterstroke jyuken and he stumbled. Hinata got into a low crane stance and a tangible field of energy became visible to her eyes.

"You are within my range of divination." She said gravely.

At this point most shinobi would have run. However, Kirābī had no knowledge of the Hyuuga clan (unlike the rest of Kumo- he was more interested in his musical career). He stood in rapt attention at the bizarre look in the girl's eyes. 'She must be really determined… I wonder if she and my bro…' His thoughts disconnected as her fingers shot out in harsh retribution.

Her hands moved so fast they were a blur. The first two strikes hit, one in the chest, one in the abdomen. Then the next four, then eight. The sixteen strike flurry had the Bee retreating against his will as the consecutive hits pushed him with combined force. By the time Hinata was up to thirty-two strikes she could feel the thrill of victory coming over her. The only thing keeping Killer Bee on his feet were her fingers. The final burst of chakra flared through her arms as she landed a final palm strike.

For a moment it looked as if Kirābī might remain standing, but a poke from Hinata sent him over and onto his knees. He fell onto all fours and wretched as he struggled for breath... because he was... laughing? Hinata watched in pure disbelief as he rolled on the ground, clutching his sides. His hysterics left him red in the face. He stood and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Not bad... girlie."

And then he was moving again. Chakra shot back into his system and his swords flew back to him as if by command; probably a jutsu. Somewhere in the middle of the process he made hand signs and electricity began to crackle between the blades. The effect looked something akin to the modified chidori Sasuke sometimes used on his katana.

"That's not possible." Hinata half whispered. "You sustained the full effects of my jyuken... and a chidori of seven swords..."

"It is possible... and my jutsu is a lot more than that, girlie."

Naruto winced from his place in the stadium. 'He stopped rhyming. He's taking her seriously now... he knows he can't us it against her. Still, I might have to intervene...' He hoped it would not come to that, but he'd rather she marry the man then be killed by him. Naruto had seen what he could do with and without his bijuu. The jyuken was useless against him, as Naruto had predicted... and Kirābī was not exaggerating. His technique did exceed the chidori.

"Raiton: Setsudanki no Sebun Bure-do!" (Lightning Style: Seven-Bladed Guillotine)

'The cutting power has increased, but I should still be able to dodge.' The ANBU kunoichi reasoned. 'Like Naruto says, don't be distracted by big moves and flash. That's what gets you killed because you stop thinking. Don't think of the problem Hinata- think of the solution.'

Her opponent rushed her once again, but this time he did a charging leap. Hinata countered his movement by doing a leaping roll forward and to the side of him. The blades missed her by a fair three feet; she completed her roll and landed on her feet. She concentrated the most powerful jyuken strike she could into her hand and nailed him in the back of the head. She instantly recognized her mistake and recoiled, clutching her right forearm in great pain.

She had almost cut off her own arm from just below the elbow. The jutsu forced a current of lighting between each sword, creating multiple arcs of additional cutting surface. She had managed to hit him, but what had appeared to be only his follow through momentum was in fact his real attack. He had shifted one of the arcs, probably aiming to cripple her. Normally her Byakugan would have no trouble countering such a jutsu but...

'The chakra is so bright that the lines are blurred.' To top it off she had just lost part of the function of her right hand. It would be impossible to aim for tenketsu with her arm so badly damaged. She leaped back, breathing hard from her adrenaline rush and began to form hand-signs, but not before launching a brace of senbon at him. One of the senbon hit him in the face and his mouth twitched out of control for a moment. Were it in a different context, Hinata was sure she would have laughed. Yet, combat was no laughing matter, at least not in this case.

'A water jutsu? There's no water here...' Kirābī thought.

"Suiton: Puressha-ba-suto no jutsu!" (Water Style: Pressure Burst Technique) She yelled fiercely.

A low rumble became audible above the crackling of the Kumo-nin's blades and his eyes widened in surprise.

Naruto smirked. 'Good move Hina-chan.' She was living up to his expectations. If she could tactically outmaneuver him she might be able to use his own techniques against him. Hopefully his own firepower could subdue him where she couldn't.

Without warning a geyser of water blasted out of the ground, saturating the area with water. Kirābī was forced to deactivate his technique or fry himself. Quite obviously, he chose the former. 'Crafty girlie... this is gonna' be more fun than I thought! Oh-ho-yeah!' Killer Bee began to make seals for his next attack, channeling a very large amount of chakra.

'When countered by clever tactics use force. When encountered by force use... more force.' He thought cheerfully. His strategy may not have been sound, but for who he was it was effective. 'As long as my jutsu doesn't make contact with the water, I can overpower her.'

Hinata recognized the beginning of the jutsu immediately. 'Raiton again. Alright...' Despite her damaged arm, her seals were still equally quick. In seconds the body of water began to take form, becoming narrower and taller. As its form completed it started building pressure at one end until...

"Suiton: Water Dragon Missile!"

"Raiton: Great Javelin!"

The two attacks collided halfway with incredible impact, jarring both shinobi. Even Naruto and Hiashi, who viewed from afar, were shook (literally) by the display.

'If it is a fight of power, my daughter has already lost.' The Hyuuga lord thought coolly. 'She will not escape my will.'

His prediction began to come true. Both competitors continued to stream more chakra into their jutsu, each attempting to overpower the other. On one hand Hinata's water had greater force, on the other Kirābī's reserves were nigh inexhaustible. After thirty seconds of continuous output, Hinata felt her grip weakening on the jutsu.

Her hands began to shake and she felt the mold of her chakra start to waver. The jutsu was slowly collapsing, even as she fed more chakra into it. She braced herself and pushed, forcing her body to comply with her needs. She would not lose. She could not lose.

'No... I will not... if I lose…. I can't see him anymore. I can't lose!'

But no matter what she wished, she could not overcome him. Her last threads of control slipped and the jutsu came hurtling back at her, full speed. She watched in horror as the nightmare funnel closed in on her. She gritted her teeth.

'No- not yet! I am not defeated yet!' She took a low crane stance. 'If I can reflect it, I can get him,' she thought as calmly as possible. 'If…. I cannot doubt- I will!' She forced an unusually large amount of chakra around her body, more than was required for the standard technique... but she would need more than the standard technique.

'That's...' Naruto nearly said out loud. She never used that technique… in fact he had never even seen her use it in all the time he knew her. She had said she couldn't output enough chakra; that it wasn't worth it. 'How stupid I was to believe her. If her chakra control is almost on par with Kakashi… then the power of that move…' The chakra became visible to the naked eye. 'It must be! That is-'

'The Rotation.' Hiashi completed unknowingly. 'A poor choice daughter. Formidable though it is, the Heavenly Spin cannot counter a jutsu of that caliber. You have wrought your own destruction. When the field collapses you will lose.'

She knew it would be hard. Her body was already beginning to feel drained from the stress of the fight. She didn't flinch- she wouldn't waste an ounce of chakra where it was unneeded. Hinata waited until the last possible moment.

"Kaiten!"

The whirling dome of chakra became visible only a mere moment before impact. The size of it was incredible, dwarfing even Hiashi's strongest. The Hyuuga leader raised an eyebrow, a dramatic sign indicating he was impressed by the show of sheer power his daughter had displayed. Still, it was to be expected that she surpass him. To expect anything less would be discrediting the name of Hyuuga.

For several seconds it seemed as if she would pull it off. The cataclysmic force was being repelled back. The spin of the Rotation was spinning the energy around and increasing its force. Somehow the Hyuuga Heiress had managed to change the flow of the technique, using the funnel repelled itself.

Naruto did his best to conceal his worry. 'That's a brilliant modification… but if its like how I remember… Neji said there was a limit of only half a dozen seconds or so until the Kaiten begins to destabilize.'

Hinata's eyes were shut tight with focus, sweat poured down her body as the incredible heat of the electrified water beat against her shield of chakra. Every breath felt like she was breathing in fire. She pushed herself on, feeling her own chakra begin to burn her as the jutsu began to lose its effectiveness. Again she surpassed her limits, increasing the speed of the rotation until she thought her brain would pop out of her skull. A piercing screech filled the arena as the two powers battled for supremacy.

Kirābī's smile evaporated. The kunoichi was significantly stronger than he had anticipated. 'That shouldn't be possible for a normal human… fine- take this!'

Bee added a final pulse of power to his attack. The final impact knocked the Konoha ANBU off of her feet and the field collapsed. The power of the blast was so great that for a moment she blacked out.

She felt the air rushing through her ears. Hinata was aware that she was flying backward at impossible speeds. The wind it felt as if it was cutting into the flesh of her back. Her head hurt so badly she was sure she had a concussion. Any moment she would crash into the far wall of the stadium and likely be killed if she didn't act. She was almost out of chakra and had few options. Dozens of moves flickered through her mind as she tried desperately to save herself. 'If I use Naruto's chakra reserve gear… but I've never tried it with that.'

There was no time to think. She was going to die.

'No choice... its that technique or bust.' She decided calmly.

Shikamaru heard the blast from his office.

"Yami!" He yelled out to his assistant. She peaked her head into the room." Take over for me. I'm going out."

"Hai, Hokage-sa-"

But the shadow user was already gone.

The crash was so violent that both Naruto and Hiashi were sure she had died. The impact was enormous, creating a crater several sizes larger than her body in the wall and nearly breaking through the five-foot concrete cushion. A plume of dust and rubble erupted from the site, obscuring the young Heiress's fate from friend and foe alike.

The dust settled and all was quiet.

Then...

'What-' Naruto thought.

'In the name-' Killer Bee continued.

'of Kami-' Hiashi added silently.

'IS THAT?'

"Kakushigoto Jutsu: Shaininguken Ryu- Shainingu Sutansu!" A voice screamed defiantly, piercing the sound void.

A blinding light flashed through the arena and everyone was forced to cover their eyes. Hinata was cradled in the crater unharmed. A brilliant aura of white chakra enveloped her form. The glaring shine coming off of her made her look like an ascended being- like some sort of angel or god. Power pulsed off of her in great waves and she slowly descended to the ground. Even through her aura Naruto could tell his partner was wearing her trademark smirk.

The light dimmed. He was right.

'Secret technique? Why was I not informed of this? A new style of the jyuken?' Hiashi was already preparing a rant for his errant daughter. 'No… this is too strong. Daughter… what have you become?'

Naruto was less surprised, but shook his head. He had never seen her practice this... ever. How much had she kept from him? How much did Shikamaru know of this? And more importantly... 'What in Kami's name is the Shining Fist Style?' If she never mentioned it then it was something she would save for only the most dire of circumstance. She was gambling… and Naruto knew that was a nasty habit.

There was however, one observer that had no such deeper musings.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S DO THIS!" Killer Bee whooped.

With no regard for his own health he charged forward at full speed. His swords were poised to strike and massive surges of electricity were visible between his seven swords. The chakra build up at the tips was visible to even Naruto's eyes. Hinata's new technique would have to be something insane to compete with Bee now... he knew this jutsu.

"Raiton: Songu no Sebun-bure-do Takusan Raikurai!" (Lightning Style: Song of Seven Blades- Many Lightning Bolts!)

The Bee stopped short and stabbed all seven blades forward. From each tip a bolt of searing electricity launched and the Hyuuga Heiress.

Hinata didn't even blink.

"Kaiten!"

This time her rotation was successful. It was also... different. Smaller, yet stronger somehow. The more refined chakra of her new style had somehow increased the Heavenly Spin's effectiveness. She stopped her spin and balanced on one foot. She put both of her arms forward and the white aura visibly surged around her fingers.

"Shaininguken Ryu: Yomenimoakurui Dangan!" (Shining Fist Style: Luminescent Bullets!)

A bolt of light shot from each fingertip shot forward with impossible speed and struck Kirābī dead on. He flew back, grunting in pain as he hit the ground and skidded a dozen yards. Miraculously he managed to keep his grip on all of his swords without impaling himself. He stood up and wiped the blood off of his chin.

"Woah-ho baby! You got the goods!" He said jovially. "But... its time to finish this."

Hinata showed no sign of concern. She merely nodded slightly and made a beckoning motion. 'But he's right... I've already tapped into Naruto's special gear. I'm down to 20% of my maximum capacity. At most I have enough left for that technique but... if it fails. I cannot think of failure.' Her eyes were cold. 'I will NOT lose.'

Kirābī adjusted his shades and took up a new stance. Lightning began to arc around him, obscuring him from her view. Suddenly a thunderbolt arched up and hit his body directly. His swords began pulsing with raw electricity that extended the blades to triple their normal length. Hinata knew that if even one of them hit her she would be out of options.

Chakra began to spin furiously around her right palm. She grabbed her wrist to reinforce the arm. She had only practiced this move with her dominant side. She would have to brace herself to pull it off injured, but hopefully she would still get most of the power out of the technique. Faster and faster the chakra spun, the white aura glowing brighter and brighter until she couldn't look at it directly. Her hand began to feel warm, then hot, then almost unbearably searing and painful. She bit down on her lip until it bled, squeezing every last bit of power into her palm.

When she could bear it no longer she faced her palm to the ground and blasted forward with a chakra enhanced leap. Her arm came up in a powerful thrust as Killer Bee slashed with all of his swords. She felt the electricity burn her as it scored minor slashes on her arms and sides. The jutsu bore the brunt of the damage, dispelling the crackling blades as they closed.

Kirābī was still wearing that stupid grin.

She would wipe it off of his face.

"SHINING PALM!"

Her move broke straight through several of his masterwork katanas, slamming him in the chest. Killer Bee flew back and crashed into the ground, then bounced into a tree that broke... THEN crashed into the wall of the stadium headfirst. He was stuck by his head for several seconds until he finally fell back and slid down.

Blood poured from the hole in the wall. She hadn't wanted to kill him, but she had been given no choice. She had grown accustomed to killing, even enjoyed it… but this man had not deserved it. His broken body spasmed involuntarily as his muscles fired off from his brains last electrical signals… fizzling.

'Its worth it…' She found herself thinking wearily. 'For Naruto-kun... its worth it…' In her deteriorated state she didn't even correct herself. Hell, maybe there was nothing to correct. 'Did it for him? Did I?' She gazed at her reflection in Bee's blood. 'No. I will become the strongest kunoichi in the world.'

Her foe's body stopped moving and she let out a sigh of relief.

"That's it..." Hinata gasped to herself. "Its over."

"Afraid not."

"Wha-"

Kirābī appeared behind her in a blur and punched her in the back, flinging her forward. She tried to flip forward to regain balance, but landed flat on her back. All of the air left her lungs and she struggled to stand. She could tell that she had at least bruised a couple of ribs and dislocated her left shoulder. Her right forearm hurt so badly she didn't even want to look at it. Her Shining stance had been blocking out her pain. Now all of the combined injuries hit her all at once. Her vision blurred and she nearly pitched forward, but caught herself on her knees.

She tried to speak, but blood trickled out of her mouth. Wracking pain filled her and her body spasmed out of control. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. She knew she had sustained some pretty severe damage, but this was...

"This is the effect of my Sutatikku Henshitsu (static degeneration). An electrical charge built up in your body and has slowly been eating away at your strength." He frowned. "Sorry if my move was a bit low, but girlie you really should know- it was not easy..."

If it was meant to be an apology Hinata didn't care.

"I… killed you."

The Kumo god-ninja gave her a cheeky grin. "You killed my clone."

Sure enough, when she found the strength to move her head, she saw that there was no body in the wall-crater.

She felt her spirits plummet.

"You mean… the entire time?"

Killer Bee made a show of backing up and waving his arms. "Naw- only that last move. You pretty tough, girlie. You put up the fight of your life, but now its time for you to be my wife."

It was so unreal that she almost laughed. 'Defeated… by a simple trick.' The image of waking up next to the deep tanned muscle man shot through her head. 'Oh… HELL no! This fight… not until my last breath will I give in!'

She got to her feet and took a fighting stance, shaking as she did so.

"I... can... still... fight..."

She staggered forward and fell flat on her face. She felt hot tears welling up in her eyes. 'Naruto… NARUTO!'

"Alright. Enough."

The presence of another powerful shinobi turned everyone's focus from the defeated girl.

"This was an unauthorized match done without my permission. You will cease now."

Naruto gave the newcomer an annoyed look. "A little late, aren't we, Hokage-sama?"

The shadow user had prepared a witty retort… but a certain noble Lord cut him off.

"How dare you! This is a Hyuuga family matter." Hiashi cried in outrage.

"This is a matter of Konoha's security. Kumo's alliance with us is shaky at best. Any visitors must be cleared before they enter the village. You smuggled this man in without my knowledge."

"The reason for this man's presence has no direct connection with this village." The Hyuuga countered.

"Hinata-san is a shinobi of Konoha. If that is not a 'direct connection' as you so stated, then I'm not sure what is. As Hokage it is up to my jurisdiction to decide what is and is not acceptable within the walls of my village."

"This is true." The Hyuuga Lord admitted slowly. His gaze turned to his broken daughter. "But the match has been decided. Hinata will marry Kirābī."

Naruto, who had been keeping quiet thus far, finally spoke. "She can still fight."

"She can hardly stand." Hiashi said plainly.

"That is ill advised." The Hokage reinforced.

"She will win." Naruto replied evenly.

'He... thinks I can win? How?'

She thought back, trying to recall any detail of the fight that might suggest a weakness her opponent had.

Nothing. Nothing had even fazed him. The most she had done was manage to bruise him up a bit and make him twitch. She gave Naruto a forlorn look, but his expression remained the same. He nodded ever so slightly. He knew she was in dire straights, but he told her she could win. His silent message was clear- never give up. True defeat was only certain when you had resigned yourself to it.

Hinata reached into a side pouch and put a senbon between her lips. If she was going down, she was going to do so looking like a badass. With great effort she stood once more. She thought of the solution… not the problem.

'Naruto's right… I have a tactical advantage.' Her bloody smile was a testament to her insane plan. 'He can't kill me.'

Hinata made a B-line towards Kirābī. No tricks, nothing, not this time. Her charge caught him off guard, but his remaining swords were at the ready in a flash. He lunged forward in a stab, knowing that she would probably flank him this time. Her mind games were good, but she couldn't afford to take any damage. He would appear to be fooled by her ploy, then knock her out. The fight had gone on long enough and he didn't want to damage her permanently.

As he had predicted, she formed a single hand sign and a poof of smoke covered her advance. As before, there was no visible change..

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. He had been trying to give her courage but this- "HINA-CHAN- NO!"

Shikamaru shot his shadow out to intercept her, but it was too late. Killer Bee stepped forward into his lunge.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The sound of steel penetrating flesh, cry of pain as Hinata let herself be impaled by all four swords. The deceit was so perfectly played out that all Kirābī could do was look at her in shock. 'If I didn't know any better I'd say it was the real thing.'

He began to twirl to counter her true attack, but his swords met resistance. Hinata reached out a bloody arm and gripped him behind the neck.

"You..." He said in quiet astonishment. "You're crazy..."

Hinata pulled herself closer to him and felt the swords exit out her back.

"Damn... right..." She wheezed with a demented grin.

Hiashi was red faced. "Daughter! You will not escape your commitments through death! This is not over!"

Shikamaru canceled his jutsu. "No... over is exactly what it is."

Naruto felt his chest throb painfully. "Hina-chan..." He whispered in despair.

"I..." She began to slump backwards and Bee reached forward to catch her, exposing him to her at point blank. It was the only chance she needed. The senbon in her mouth twitched up and she smirked defiantly. "...win."

Hinata spit the senbon out with the added force of an insanely small manipulation of chakra. It pierced straight through Killer Bee's neck, putting him into a near death state instantly.

She had won.

As his grip loosened she felt herself beginning to fall, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms. She looked up to see the piercing blue eyes of her partner, glittering with moisture.

"H...h...hey...N-n..aru...ch-ch...aan... I... d-did...good...right?" It felt so hard to keep her eyes open.

He pressed her cheek to his. "You did great Hina-chan... save your strength."

She nodded. "The Hyuuga... are the strongest... in Konoha."

And then her head lolled to the side.

Naruto gathered her into his arms, careful not to move the swords and cause anymore damage. He stood to his full height and shot a murderous glare at Hiashi.

"You better pray to whatever god you worship that she lives. Cause if she doesn't I swear I will kill every last one of you white-eyed freaks." He spat venomously.

Hiashi opened his mouth to talk, but the Kyuubi container was already gone. He turned to speak to the Hokage only to feel his neck being crushed. A shadowy hand had snaked up his body and was choking him to death.

"You..." Shikamaru said dangerously, walking until he was mere inches from the Hyuuga Lord's face. "Really... fucked up."


	18. Consequences and Confessions

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

+Uchiha Sakura +

+Age: 19 +

+Sex: Female +

+Height: 5'5'' +

+Weight: 130 lbs. +

+Rank: Jonin Black ops. +

+Allegiance: Konoha +

+Notes: Emphasis on taijutsu and medical ninjutsu. Excellent mental function. +

* * *

It was something in the air.

She had come to sense these things over the years. It always happened when you least expected it. Bright sunshiny days were always suspect to the sole surviving female member of the Uchiha clan. Well, that was only technically correct. She had married him because she loved him... yes love. There had been times when she had been disillusioned from her fan girl fanaticism and thought she hadn't but...

'When Naruto turned his back on the world, what choice did I have?'

By name she was Uchiha, but her pink hair was a testament to her true identity. Only a Haruno could walk around sporting such hair and not be accused of dyeing their long locks. On the other hand, it was most pleasing to scare the newbie medics by telling them her hair had been naturally dyed... by blood. That always gave her a kick. They were just so gullible sometimes that she couldn't help herself. Yet, at times like this, she envied them. She had that 'sixth sense' as most people liked to call it. Today it was going crazy. Something catastrophic was about to come through those white double doors, something she wasn't going to be prepared for.

She couldn't possibly imagine what it could be. Naturally, that was the trouble.

It was usually one of two things. A patient she knew had a chance to live, but would almost certainly die anyway. Telling them it was going to be alright was worse then telling it to someone terminal. At least you could justify it as comforting the dying. Saying the same to someone who had a small chance... well that was almost lying. Worse, she had to try and live up to that promise and it hurt all the more when she failed. Because being the 'God of Medics' as many called her was not enough to save everyone. Sometimes wounds ran too deep... and they weren't always physical. She had seen many a case where a single member of a squad had returned critically injured and died where they might have lived.

'I guess its just too hard to keep on living with that kind of guilt for some people.' Sakura thought. Then, randomly: 'Maybe that's why Naruto needed to save Sasuke. He failed the 3rd... or at least he felt he did and he failed Jiraiya. I guess he couldn't take another set back.' She sighed. 'He's become a man who doesn't believe in impossibilities. It's because of that ROOT took him. I wonder if he's still looking for the mystery behind Iruka's death?'

That had been a bloody ordeal. If it weren't for Sasuke, Kakashi and a slew of S rank slaughter missions he might have ended his own life out of sheer depression. Luckily blood lust was a wonderful filler for that emptiness that only came from the loss of a loved one. Then again, it wasn't really good for one's state of mind. She had seen his psych tests. Every six months they got a little worse. The reports went past her after Ino, so she was able to fudge a little. It's not like he was a real psycho but...

'But he's borderline even for ANBU... hell even for ROOT. I know he's loyal, but it says something when even his closest friends question how safe he is to be around. Kami knows even Sasuke is a little put off by him these days- and he's a handful himself.'

After being married for three years she had come to understand and circumvent most of her husband's faults. The rivalry between the Uchiha and a certain blonde haired sage hadn't been one of them.

"Ughh. My head hurts. Bad Sakura. No more of this pessimistic crap." She thought out loud.

"Sakura-sensei, you're talking to yourself again." A small voice said with mild concern.

"Thanks Yuuki."

"Don't mention it teach'!"

The snarky young girl was a distant relative of her late master. She had been living in some ramshackle orphanage in the Capital when Sakura finally tracked her down. Originally she had sought her out only to confirm her safety, but when she had seen the living conditions she hadn't been able to stay her hand. In the end she had brought her back to Konoha and put her up in far better accommodations: the guest room of her house. Sasuke had flipped a shit at first, but she had grown on him. The little blonde-haired brown-eyed girl had as much spirit as her old master and the blunt charm of Naruto's younger self. She even looked a little of both of them to boot.

Yuuki was nine now. She had been seven when Sakura accepted legal guardianship of her. Technically she wasn't her daughter, but she viewed her as such. The only reason she hadn't signed the papers for standard adoption was so that her name didn't end in 'Uchiha.' There had been two reasons behind that. One: Sasuke had drawn the line and two: the girl would be put at risk if she was widely known as the daughter of the only remaining full-blood Uchiha, the 'God of Medics' and two of Konoha's so called '2nd generation' Sannin.

"It's just us in the office sweet heart. You can call me mom in private."

The girl beamed. "Thanks mommy!"

It was take your kid to work day; sort of. More like there was a school holiday, Sasuke was on ANBU business and the head medic couldn't just take leave to entertain her nine-year-old.

On the whole it brightened things up. On a perfect day in Konoha when the birds sang and the sun shined the presence of her daughter couldn't have been better.

'Still... I can't help but feel it. Somethings off today.'

A raven cawed ominously in the distance and a breeze blew the window open.

It was something in the air.

* * *

"You... really fucked up."

Hiashi clawed futilely at the shadow hand constricting his neck. "I... can explain."

Shikamaru released him and he fell to the ground void of grace, gasping for breath.

"You'd better." The Hokage let out a growl that turned into a sigh. "What a drag..."

"I wasn't properly informed. Danzo-san only said he was strong. It was his recommendation."

Some of the fury in the shadow wielder's face faded. "I told you to give me the details before you went ahead with the plan." He insisted.

"But-"

"Don't try to give me excuses Hiashi." Shikamaru's voice rang with the tone of authority. "You're a lord. Act like one."

"I... made a mistake." He replied with great effort.

It was a large gesture for any Hyuuga to admit they had erred. For Hyuuga Hiashi it was nothing short of the greatest show of respect he could give a leader. His mask of pride had faltered for a mere instant, but it was enough to show his subordination.

Shikamaru pressed his advantage.

"And marriage was not included in our agreement."

Hiashi picked himself up and dusted some of the dirt off of his fine white robes. He gave the Rokudaime a glare. "What would you have me do? She won't marry anyone else!"

"You don't know that." The Hokage countered evenly.

"Unless someone defeats her she won't ever consent."

A mild groan was heard coming from a delirious Kirābī. Something about watermelon and an idea for a new record. It was comical how he rhymed poorly even in his subconscious mind.

"And that is not my problem."

"It will be when she turns twenty. Once she hits that deadline anyone on the list who defeats her a second time, or any new comer for that matter, will have her hand."

"That's a bit primitive isn't it?"

Hiashi's eyes pierced through the Hokage's jaded attitude without the aid of his blood-limit. "It's tradition. The strongest will fight and to the victor will go the spoils. The system was established by the elders to ensure that strong blood flowed through the future generation's veins."

"First I've heard of it." Shikamaru commented sincerely.

"It was ignored until recently."

"Because...?"

Hiashi hesitated and something akin to shame crossed his features. "Sakura-san made some discoveries with the new technologies available from The West."

"And?"

There was a pause. A gust of wind whispered through the arena and a crow that had been watching from a nearby tree cawed and took flight.

"There have been certain... consequences. The blood of the Hyuuga has grown thick." He said carefully.

At that Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He had suspected when he looked up the clans medical files... "Inbreeding then?"

"Yes." The Hyuuga replied shortly.

"What sort of problems?"

The proud man before him closed his eyes. There was tension in his hands, clearly he was used to channeling his anxieties through them and now was not the time to do so. He suddenly looked very old, as only those who had lived and lost could. The lines of his face and his graying temples were more prominent now; the fire had gone out of his eyes.

His voice once so strong, trembled at his own words. "My wife... died of a related illness. This is also the reason Hanabi cannot be heir."

"Is she dying?"

"No, but she is infertile." Shifting the topic to current issues refortified Hiashi's practiced stoicism. He continued without any evident emotion. "The doctors say that my eldest was very lucky. She is in perfect health."

"That's a bit inaccurate considering her current condition." The Rokudaime pointed out.

"You understand my concern then?"

For once the obvious evaded the genius with an asymptotic IQ. "I'm afraid that I don't follow. Why force her to marry so early?"

"She's ANBU." Hiashi clarified coldly. "Even the strongest can perish."

"As she very well might today." The Hokage replied grimly.

'So Danzo took advantage of that weakness. He must know about the Hyuuga's problem. But why would he want an alliance with Rai? Well that's obvious, Shika you idiot. Power. Either that or he was trying to kill her... of course he might have been using this as an opportunity to test her strength. If that were the case then he might be considering her for ROOT. Damn. Which is it?'

"That brings me back to my reason. Hinata is the only one who can continue the Main Branch."

Shikamaru made a conscious effort not to complain. Seeing no possible way to beat around the bush (well... there were some ways, but they were too troublesome), the Hokage opted for doing it the easy way.

"She'd marry Naruto." The shadow user said bluntly.

"The Demon?" The outraged Hyuuga hissed.

"Killer Bee," he said, indicating the unconscious man on the ground, "is a jinchuriki as well."

"I... I didn't know."

"I assumed you didn't know. That I was right does not make you any less guilty."

"I-"

"You told me that it was a foreign shinobi. You did not tell me that it was one from Rai. Our relationship with them has always been strained, politically. A stunt like that could have resulted in a war we are not ready for. Fortunately, Kirābī is not like most from that country. I doubt he'll be upset. Naruto is a close friend of his."

The cogs turned behind the Hyuuga lord's eyes. "The Demon... he is her partner?"

"Yes."

The conversation shifted topics as Hiashi slowly came to the Rokudaime's line of reasoning. He had put the pieces together; everything finally made sense.

"And you're counting on that pair to tip the balance in this affair. Are you not?"

"Yes."

"And the agreement hasn't changed."

"That is correct."

"Then you will forgive me for being ignorant to my daughter's importance?"

"Oh, I'll forgive you." Shikamaru said dangerously. "If she lives."

* * *

"Sakura-sama!"

The door to her office burst open and a panic stricken medical shinobi appeared, panting.

She looked up from her paperwork in a dead calm. 'This is it. This is what I felt... I am ready.'

"What is it?"

The young man in white robes gasped for breath. It looked like he had already exhausted his chakra on whoever the patient was and then run up the twelve flights of stairs from the ER.

"A young woman has come in... she's in critical condition. We have her in a stasis jutsu, but I don't think she has more than twenty minutes if you can't think of something."

Yuuki tugged on her sleeve. "Mommy can I help?"

She gave her daughter a strong face and a weak smile. "Not this time Yuu-chan. Why don't you go over to Tenten's? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

She scrunched her nose and pouted. A stern look from her legal guardian forced a sigh from her tiny lips. "Okay. But ice cream later okay?"

"It's a promise. Now scoot."

Her daughter took off like an arrow from a bow, flying around the corner and disappearing from earshot.

"You can fill me in on the way down." The senior medic-nin said, rising smoothly.

No sense in working herself into a panic. Stoicism was essential to keeping her hands steady. From the look on the man's face, she would need it.

"Age 19. One hundred forty pounds, five feet eight inches. Four cuts through the body, each made by a sharpened blade. None of them pierced any vital organs, but she's losing blood faster than we can replenish."

"Blood type?" She asked with an increasing feeling of foreboding.

"A."

The reserves had been destroyed in Pain's invasion and blood was something the hospital constantly struggled to restock. In a recent raid nearly sixty shinobi had been injured. Over half had needed a blood transfusion to pull through... and half of that half had been blood type A. The next shipment wasn't due for three more days. Which meant... 'We don't have more than a quart to spare her. We have to keep the rest, we can't waste it all on one person. Unless I stitch her up quickly, she's done for.' She thought clinically.

She entered the ER and steeled herself. She didn't need to ask which room it was, it was clear by the screams the woman was producing- the application of chakra to a patient was usually stimulating enough to keep them conscious. From the volume and pitch of her wails it was clear the staff had given her sedatives, probably to slow the blood flow.

She would have walked straight across the waiting room and into the corridor, but something in the corner of her eye stopped her.

Uzumaki Naruto was sitting in a seat, arms crossed with a face as expressive as iron. His white T-shirt was stained blood red, obviously not his, and his fists were clenched so tightly they were white. His eyes caught hers and he shot up, closing the distance in four powerful strides.

"Who is it?" She asked calmly.

"Hinata." He said almost conversationally.

The ANBU tended to get more removed when something greatly upset him. So when he grabbed her by the shoulders hard enough for her to cringe in pain, it was all the more startling. The look in his eyes made her fear for her life.

"She _will_ live. Do you understand?"

"Naruto-"

"Do you _understand_?"

Sakura looked at him sadly. 'Without more than a quart I don't think I'll have time...'

"I'll do what I can."

After a moment: "Is there anything I can do?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. What's your blood type?"

"O. Universal donor."

"Come with me."

* * *

_CRACK!_

Bone splintered as the wakazashi's hilt smashed the man's face in. A gout of blood erupted from his mouth as he gurgled his dying breath.

'Twenty-three.'

A shinobi using a sword and buckler attacked Naruto from the rear. He pivoted and turned caught the blow with his own sword, the guards locking in a hiss of sparks. The young woman bashed his knee with her shield with expert precision, knocking him to the ground. His left hand drew a kunai and parried her killing strike. An arching strike to her neck was blocked by the buckler, shedding his blade with minimal force and using the momentum to smash him in the face with it's rim.

_POOF!_

The shadow clone dispersed. The leader of the missing-nin group spun, turning with desperate haste to counter the expected assault from her unguarded flank.

It was a mistake.

A foot of steel erupted from between her breasts and she fell to the ground, death taking her moments later. Her expression was one of comic surprise.

Naruto wiped the blood off of his blade with a rag. Dried blood was a nightmare to get off of any surface, let alone the inside of a sheath.

"They never think it's going to be them, do they?"

His gaze turned to the new partner he had been assigned a week ago. "No, Watari. All shinobi are well acquainted with death, it's the fact that it's finally happened that is shocking."

"Oh." The shorter man said dumbly. "So why are they surprised?"

Naruto suppressed the urge to kill him. "Because most of them have survived brushes with death on numerous occasions. It's like jumping down the stairs every day for a year, and then one day landing wrong and breaking your leg."

"Oh. Yeah I get it."

'What you're going to get is a kunai up the ass if you don't shut the fuck up you sack of shit!' The blonde slammed his wakazashi home and turned on his heel, attempting to distract himself from his sub-par replacement partner. 'Calm... calm... deep breaths. Killing him won't solve anything... well it might make me feel better. Nah, two in a month is suspicious at best.'

"Come on. It's a long run back to Konoha and a longer walk. Let's get moving."

Time ceased to have significance as the trees passed by in a blur of green and brown. The steady huffing of breath behind him faded into the background as his thoughts turned to... irrelevant things.

Only minutes seemed to pass before the gates of Konoha appeared before the ANBU duo. The guards just gave them a quick glance before opening the gates.

People had given up trying to speak with him unless it was absolutely necessary over a month ago. His partner followed the same protocol... most of the time. He just nodded his head to indicate he was going home. No use in sending two when one could report. It was Naruto's turn this time anyway.

The first week had been the worst. It was like every fucking person in Konoha was grieving.

'The hell they know about pain anyway? At least they left me alone after that. I swear I was going to kill the next person who gave me that "I'm so sorry," bullshit.'

His mind spiraled deeper and deeper into the darkness up until the doors of the Hokage's office were opened before him.

Shikamaru looked up wearily from a mountain of paperwork. His eyes had that half glazed look he wore whenever he was depressed.

'For Kami's sake! I've gotten over it, so why can't everyone else? And Shika is no better. Damn, if anything he's worse. Acts as if the whole village died. Shit.'

"Report?" He asked in something flatter than his usual monotone, if it was possible.

"Twenty-five killed. Two of them by Shitfuck, the other twenty-three, your's truly."

The Hokage shot the borderline psychotic ANBU a withering glare. "You could at least try to like him. Is nobody good enough for you?"

"No. But I have standards. Why the hell did you take me off of solo work?"

"Because you're unstable you dumb ass! Do you know how many fucking strings I pulled to keep you from getting released from service? Your psyche profile is a nightmare."

"That's my business."

"No, it's my business." The Rokudaime seethed. "Who do you think got the heat when EIGHT civilians got caught in your last cluster fuck? Huh? WHO?"

Naruto's voice turned to a yell. "I DON'T NEED TO PUT UP WITH THIS SHIT!"

"THE HELL YOU DON'T!" Shikamaru yelled back. He continued, ominously soft. "Get out of my office. I don't want to see you again for a week. You understand me?"

"I have a right to serve my village."

"And I have a right to protect it from loose cannons."

"Way-to-parody ten bad movies. Loose cannon?"

"Get out of my sight."

He slammed the door behind him.

'Great now Shika has turned on me too. What next? Sasuke-teme? Kakashi-sensei? Sakura already avoids me like the plague and Genma has started watering my drinks. Now I can't even do my job. Fuck!'

Swear words had become the primary way he expressed himself in the last month.

'Hinata would understand. FUCK!'

He had let her in again and it was starting to hurt.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" He said out loud and a mother deliberately altered her child's course away from him.

That was nothing new.

_"FUCK!"_

"Oi, Naruto. Something wrong?" A sarcastic voice cut through the heat of his rage.

Kakashi dropped out of a tree where he had been contentedly re-reading one of the few remaining Icha Icha he had. Kami knew where he had stashed them to keep them from being burned by Anko.

The disturbed ANBU let out a big breath, one he had been saving for another tirade. Fortunately the copy-nin's presence had deflated him some.

"Hey, sensei."

His old teacher fell in stride with him. They walked in silence for a few minutes, heading automatically to Genma's. At one point Kakashi nosed up from his book to risk a glance at his hateful pupil and was sorry he did.

'He makes Sasuke look like Miss Sunshine these days.' He thought humorlessly. 'Funny. I could have sworn this might have torn him right open. Instead, it's made him worse. This has gone on long enough. If nobody will confront him then I will. There is a limit to how much the soul can endure and Naruto has reached his limit.'

"So... I hear your mission was a success." The senior shinobi began tactfully.

"Yeah." Naruto answered shortly.

Kakashi spared him a glance. "Not satisfied with your new partner?"

Naruto glared at him. "No more than the last."

"Surely he's better than Haruji."

"Of course he is: Haruji's six feet under."

"By no fault of your own." The one-eyed jonin continued tonelessly. "You can't kill this one. People will start to talk."

"I didn't-"

"So Haruji just _happened_ to be in the way of that rasengan when you threw it?"

"I told him to move."

"I'm sure you did." The Hatake remarked dryly. "Hmmmm... how should I put this?"

"Eh?"

"Ah yes... liar." Kakashi said with false cheer and a tilt of his head.

"They can't prove anything... and Watari is a little better."

"Given your current attitude, I suspect you wish for your injured partner to recover." His sensei observed neutrally.

Naruto stiffened. "Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't really care, but I worked with her for longer. That and her skills made the replacements look like genin. This newest brace of ANBU have been terrible."

"They do seem to have dropped the standards."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"They let you in." Kakashi continued blandly.

"Yeah, yeah."

'Alright. Now is the time. Hopefully he'll listen.'

"So..." He began slowly. "Have you visited her?"

"Who?" Naruto questioned, a vile cold seeping into his voice.

"Hinata." Kakashi supplied, unintimidated.

"No."

The aging legend shut his book and stepped in front of the Uzumaki, locking eyes with him.

"It's your duty as her partner to see how she is progressing. Go to her." He commanded harshly.

"No."

"Look Naruto, I'm telling you this as a friend and a teacher. Denying it happened is not going to help. Go and see her."

"It's not like it's going to make a difference." The Kyuubi container said defensively.

"Maybe not for her, but for you it will. I'll drag you if I have to." The sharingan-wielder said firmly.

"Fine. Shit if I care."

The brooding shinobi made a sharp left and made an act of stomping his way down the street. Kakashi watched him go with a morose expression.

'What happened to that kid who used to rant about becoming Hokage? Is he gone forever, Naruto?'

* * *

The room was quiet, as it always was.

She lay there in the bed looking peaceful, her steady breathing a reminder of everything good that had happened in his life. Her unruly blonde locks were looking more ragged than usual, but he liked them that way. She had always been the warrior-type, unconcerned about her looks. Of course she was a stunner anyway, but that was least of all why they were married.

He eased his way into bed and let out a long sigh. His arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace and a soft 'mmmm' escaped her lips.

"You seem to be feeling better."

"Kakashi finally convinced Naruto to go and see her."

Temari propped herself onto one elbow and faced her lover. "Well that's news."

"Yeah."

"You think it'll help him?"

Shikamaru snorted. "Well he neglected to visit even once after the surgery in the ER. Any contact is obviously a big improvement."

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Like a brother... sort of. Not like Sasuke does, but well enough. I'm as close to him as Ino and Choji these days."

Her beautiful eyes caught his dull black ones. "You're sure his insanity hasn't rubbed off on you?"

He grinned.

"Well let's see..."

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

'It was all my fault.'

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

'I should have stopped the fight.'

_Beep. Beep. Beep...beep._

'I'm such a goddamned screw up!'

_...beep...beep..._

"Shit, Hina-chan. I'm so sorry."

"I was wondering when you'd finally show up."

The pink haired medic walked into the room with practiced cool.

"Took you long enough."

Naruto looked up through blurry eyes. It was four a.m.

"Sakura..." He half whispered.

"Duh. Who else has a shift starting this early? You do know that you're not even close to visiting hours."

"Yeah."

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat opposite him in a small chair.

"There is hope you know." She said matter-of-factly. "She wouldn't be the first shinobi to come out of a coma so late."

Naruto smiled bitterly. "And you know lying to me is a bad idea. The chance of recovery goes down each day. I paid enough attention in basic to know that."

She put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"It wasn't your fault. She made her own choice."

"To kill herself."

"You don't know that." Sakura stated sharply.

"She threw herself at those swords!"

"Because she didn't want to marry that guy."

"Death is not the way out."

"Try telling that to yourself. You are dead Naruto. Inside. I can see it day by day. Even Sai thinks you're acting strange."

"I know. I'm sorry I've been this way... I just can't help it." He admitted, sounding quite vulnerable.

She smiled. "That's the first rational and mature thing I've heard you say in a month."

He returned her smile, if weakly.

After that they just sat and watched Hinata breath for a while. Naruto seemed far-gone from the world and Sakura didn't even attempt to bring him back for more conversation. She looked down at her own hands and flexed them, as if reminding herself that she was still strong; strong enough to help him.

'I can't think of a person who has had a worse lot in life... not one that I know personally. He finally finds someone and Kami screws him yet again.'

"It's just not fair." He said suddenly, as if he could read her mind.

"No, Naruto. No it's not."

"This shouldn't have happened."

"No, it shouldn't have."

"Shit..."

'Well, so much for reflective listening. Might as well drop the bomb.'

"Did you love her?"

His expression changed so dramatically, so quickly, she could have sworn he had shifted into another person. Maybe he had.

"Where do you get the nerve-"

"I'm just trying to help you, Naruto. You're my friend. " She said gently. "I'm not asking because I want to know. I'm asking because you need to ask yourself."

That got to him. He looked utterly defeated.

"I... don't think so." He said slowly, sincerely. "But I think I might have eventually."

The medic-nin nodded.

'I think that's progress enough for now... well maybe.'

"I'm going to go get some coffee. Want some?"

"Sure."

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"You should talk to Hiashi." The look he gave her was blood curdling. "No, I mean it. I think you'll be surprised. Shikamaru said that he's still grieving, and it's not just because he lost his heir."

"Why?" Naruto asked indignantly in a 'like he fucking gives a shit' kind of tone. "What else did he lose?"

"His daughter, Naruto."

When she left all he could do was stare at her... and think of how he had smiled at him that time right before the match.

It made his chest ache.

"Fuck."


	19. The Melancholy of Uzumaki Naruto

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_The house was colored a brilliant orange. It should have been offensive, but she loved it, just like she loved him. Their three children ran around and laughed and played with one another. The boy reminded her most of his father. Piercing blue yet pupil-less eyes and long straight neck-length hair that shone a silvered dark gold marked him as their own. He was beautiful and she loved him._

_Her daughter was also beautiful. The eldest was only a few inches shorter than her. Her shoulders were broad and her waist small. Hair only several shades lighter than her blue black hung to just below her jaw, much like she had worn it at that age. Her eyes were white, shot with silver veins and with a little blue around the rims. She was beautiful and she loved her._

_And her youngest, another girl, cradled in her arm and staring up at her with awe. She was also beautiful. In fact, everything in life was. The little person in her arms was a manifestation of the beauty she had found in herself, and in him. Their love warmed her heart and body, from her ears to her toes. She felt his presence behind her, and strong arms wrapped her in a tender embrace. He kissed lightly on her neck, and whispered softly into her ear; something about sharing, something about always. That made her smile and her heart leaped and did somersaults of joy as it always did._

_His sweet scent surrounded her and she knew she was safe. He would always protect her and in return she would comfort him. She would be his harbor and his castle and he would be her shield..._

_Then he spun her around and kissed her. Every breath they took they shared, just as they shared their lives, their souls and their children. The heat of his lips and tongue transported her to another world, one far from her own cares and worries. Whatever happened in the future, they would face it together._

_"I love you Hina-chan, aisai."_

_"And I love you Naru-chan, anata."_

_She was going to kiss him again when she heard something._

Beep...beep...beep...

_"Do you hear that, anata?"_

_He was speaking to her, but no sound passed over his lips._

Beep...beep...beep...

_"Anata?" She asked fearfully._

_But there was no response. He had faded from her sight._

_"NARUTO!"_

_

* * *

_

"Lord Hiashi has been expecting you, Master Uzumaki."

The polite young man at the gates of the Hyuuga main branch estate bobbed his head in a show of well practiced respect.

"If you would come this way please?"

Naruto followed in silent agreement, making an effort not to get angry before they had spoken. In a way, he had made the right choice about putting off this confrontation until now. If he had tried a month ago he likely would have killed the Hyuuga Lord.

'He lost his daughter, Naruto.'

Sakura's words echoed through his head. They soothed him a little, or at least kept him more subdued.

'He lost his daughter,' he thought angrily, 'and I lost... what did I lose? I don't even know what to think anymore. Shit, I'm a wreck. Why'd this have to happen? What did I... what did she do to deserve this?' Images of countless bodies piled up behind his azure irises. 'Guess it is just deserts then. No time like the present to start believing in Karma, eh Naruto?'

His focus shifted to following again as the narrow corridors began to get more confusing. The place was a labyrinth to the young ANBU, but he suspected it was familiar as the back of one's hand for those who lived here. Beautiful and priceless works of art from paintings, to statues, to woven tapestries decorated the smooth dark wood of the paneled walls. Scenes depicting the culture and history of the Hyuuga was evident, including what looked like stories or myths related to the well endowed clan.

One of them caught his eye: a large tapestry that illustrated what looked like a floating castle. Eagle-beings with stark silver eyes gazed back with the intensity of a proud hunter. In the corner there were some humans in a hot air balloon, pointing and gawking in amazement. One of the tengu, or at least that's what he thought they were called, was hovering just beyond the reach of a young girl. She was wistful and starry-eyed at the sight of the handsome eagle-man. One of her ankles was shown in mid-twist, and her hands were fidgeting nervously behind her back, both clearly revealed the contents of her thoughts.

'Weird shit these Hyuuga' have. Who'd wanna do it with a bird?'

They passed what looked to be a large training ground with targets and various objects set out that were likely meant to help hone the jyuken. Several young girls and boys of the branch family were dutifully pounding away at wooden pells that had glass test tubes set into them on the other side. A particularly serious looking boy struck out with grace and determination and the glass shattered. He let out a whoop and his compatriots joined in his little victory jaunt. A sharp look from the gray haired female instructor stopped the ruckus almost instantly, but Naruto was sure he could see a hint of a smile lingering behind her glasses and lined face.

Lush gardens with large ponds embroidered the land of the next outdoor square. A small class of adolescent girls in kimonos were sitting formally and practicing tea ceremony under the scrupulous eye of a neatly dressed codger who walked with a limp. One of them spilled a little and a hickory stick flashed through the air, stopping a mere inch from her startled face. He shouted at her in reprimand and Naruto could tell she was holding back tears.

'This is what Hinata grew up with, except she was the heir... royalty, a princess really. If it's this bad for them, I can't imagine what it was like for her. Guess I know why she was so shy when she was younger...'

His thoughts trailed off onto a healthy tangent until the branch member finally stopped in front of an unusually elaborate looking slide door.

The servant bowed to the door, a strange gesture. The again, the whole clan was strange.

"Hiashi-sama. Lord Namikaze is here to see you."

A shuffling of papers and the creak of a thick oak chair was heard from the other side, and the silhouette of a broad shouldered and proud man appeared behind the off-white rice paper.

"Enter." The voice said shortly.

The attendant slid the door aside for him and then bowed a second time. The screen clicked shut behind him.

"You may sit." Hiashi more commanded than suggested.

A smaller tan chair, one likely designed to make the inhabitant feel small and inferior, sat opposite the large Japanese maple desk. Naruto was unfazed of course, he had come looking for a fight and it wasn't going to be over where he sat.

"Tea?" His host asked with the politeness born of his noble upbringing.

"No thanks." Naruto replied between pursed lips.

"Very well."

The tea was poured from a fine china pot with an emerald dragon crafted into it. The head was fixed in a vicious snarl and made up the handle of the small vessel.

The dull orange liquid steamed when it entered Hiashi's cup. The smell was strong but pleasant: something spicy with a hint of wood smoke and perhaps a pinch of some bitter root or another. The Hyuuga replaced the teapot back onto its tray on a small light-stand and pulled his cup closer to him, depositing it on a plain silver cup holder.

'And Hinata said the clan was near bankrupt? Well at least now I know who's responsible. Shit, I'd be happy with a tenth the stuff he has.' Naruto thought critically.

"Heirlooms." Hiashi said, answering his thoughts. "They have been in the clan for generations. Personally, I prefer more modest accessories. However, the presence of a guest requires them. It would not do if visitors to the estate left unimpressed."

'He's serious, but he's also fucking with me. At the same time he's telling the truth. Strange guy.'

Behind his expressionless face was a mountain of unattended anxiety that had built up over the past month. Maybe it was just his nerves, but his instincts were telling him not to trust this man...

"Doing a reading?" He commented blandly, indicating Hiashi's fixed gaze on the teacup.

The slightest pull at the corner of his mouth suggested amusement.

"I do not take stock in such eccentric hobbies." The Hyuuga replied smoothly. "I could arrange a reading for you by one of the tea ceremony students though, if you wish."

The attempt at the stoic dry humor helped to take the edge off of Naruto's frayed state a little. On another level it was kind of disconcerting to hear Hyuuga Hiashi try to crack a joke.

"Yeah," Naruto snorted, "and the weather is nice too."

"I understand you have come to speak with me about my daughter." Hiashi said, undeterred by the sarcasm of the Kyuubi container. "I have expected you for some time now, although it was my prediction that you would have arrived earlier and through a hole in the wall."

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, me too, actually. Sometimes I surprise myself."

The conversation died for a minute or so as the two men measured each other. After a while the Hyuuga ended the event by sipping at his tea and closing his eyes either to savor the flavor of the sweet drink, or to think. Probably both.

"I expect you are angry." Hiashi began.

Red flushed the face of the shinobi sitting opposite of him. "Well what else would you expect? You're "little bet" almost killed my partner, and a coma is not much fucking better."

"I would appreciate it if you abstained from shouting obscenities in my household. The walls are quite thin." Hiashi countered effortlessly. A bit of iron had begun to creep into his voice. "And you must not forget that my daughter agreed to the wager. She could have just revealed her relationship with you. Of course she would have fought Kira-bi- in either case, so that point is mute."

"Mute isn't what I would call four stab wounds through the abdomen and chest."

"She made a tactical miscalculation and suffered for it. It is the consequences of this failure that resulted in her current condition."

"The hell it is!"

"I understand you are upset." Hiashi said gravely. "Her loss would mean a black spot on your record unfortunately. I too will grieve, for the Hyuuga will have lost their only suitable heir."

Naruto frowned in confusion, momentarily distracted from his anger. "What about Hanabi?"

"Health complications." The Hyuuga Lord amplified: "She is unfit to bear children."

"Well she's only what? Fourteen?"

"This coming March, yes."

"So just give her a couple of years." Naruto offered ignorantly.

Hiashi ground his teeth. "No, you uneducated scourge, she can't have them. She is barren."

"Oh." Naruto said dumbly. "Shit."

He felt a twinge of guilt go through him for being so insensitive. At the same time he sympathized with Hiashi. That must have been hard on him, from what Hinata told him of her father, he had wanted Hanabi to be heir from the beginning. Then there was Hanabi herself, and he knew how much women liked to have children...

"Now do you understand what Hinata means to the Hyuuga?" Hiashi prompted.

"Yeah." The blonde ANBU snarled as he stood and slammed his hand on the desk, regaining his outrage. "A whole lot less than what she means to me, not to mention her friends. Don't you care about her at all?"

"As Lord of the-"

Naruto cut him off. "I mean as a father you stoic prick!"

At that the Hyuuga seemed to sag a bit. The wrinkles in his face became signs of weakness instead of pride, and his grey-white eyes looked blind and faded rather than wise.

"She is my daughter." He said in a voice lacking his usual hard tone and warm resonance. "And despite what you think of me, I do love her. I loved her mother and she reminds me of her more than Hanabi ever did."

"So that's why you treated her like shit these last nineteen years?" Naruto accused.

"As a Hyuuga I cannot accept failure. As a father I want her to succeed. They are similar in effect, but different in origin. I'm afraid I may have chosen the wrong one when I raised her." He let his gaze sink ever so slightly. For a Hyuuga it was reminiscent of admitting one was wrong. "Still, she would have done better to grow her backbone at a younger age.

"That's little excuse. Your pride got her skewered." The blonde pointed out ruthlessly.

"I know." He said in a tone that might have even been sad, surprising Naruto to no end. "But is was a calculated risk. She is ANBU and the Hyuuga must have an heir. If she dies in combat there will be internal struggle that could spell the end of the Hyuuga clan. That in turn could upset the balance of power in Konoha. As a loyal vassal of the Leaf, I'm sure you can understand the kind of decisions one must sometimes make."

"Yeah..." The Uzumake answered hesitantly. 'And I used to question what I would do if I had to choose between my partner and the mission. S and A rank missions are always a matter of weighing the good of the many against the good of the few... but she is his daughter! How the fuck can he be so damned heartless?'

Then, in a moment of cruelty: "Kind of ironic that trying to fulfill your duty as a leader resulted in the very thing you feared most. She was lucky beyond anything I've ever heard of in a hospital. It was nothing short of a miracle that they missed her vital organs. As it is, one went through the stomach. I don't need to tell you that one other was less than an inch from her heart and another grazed her womb."

Hiashi winced. "It was most unfortunate that the incident occurred, but I am likewise grateful to the gods for sparing her life."

"Well at least we can agree on something." The Kyuubi container retorted, slightly less hostile. "Still, her life is not spared yet... and if she dies..."

"You'll kill every one of us "white-eyed freaks" right?" Hiashi said with a glint in his eye. "I would not regret killing you by my own hand. However, given your display four years ago, it is highly unlikely I would succeed. I find myself in agreement with you; I'd rather she lived."

"And another thing," the blonde continued, a fair amount of killing intent seeping into the room, "If she does recover then I'm not going to put up with any of this shit anymore..."

* * *

Hanabi sat outside her father's office, behind a small obsidian plaque dedicated to her mother, which happened to be a material the byakugan could not pierce. Of course the walls were pretty thin as her father had said...

'Let him have it Naruto!'

She strained her hearing as the conversation moved to a lower pitch. Clearly it was supposed to be something secret. She could make it out, if only just.

"...fox...demon...marry...first born..."

The younger Hyuuga's eyes widened in shock, then fury.

'Naruto... is the Kyuubi?'

* * *

"I will not have a fox demon marry my first born." Hiashi snapped.

"This demon saved the entire fucking village, including your sorry ass! And I never said I wanted to or that she would. Just that under your "contract" she can be engaged and not have to be harassed by more suitors. You know that when she recovers they will be circling her like buzzards. In her weakened state she wouldn't be able to beat even a civilian!"

Hiashi stroked at his chin. "You... may have a point. But if I agree to it, it is in name only."

"No," Naruto said in sudden realization, "actually I can't do it. If I did, then she would no longer be eligible to be my partner."

The look Hiashi gave him was one of the cat who had swallowed the canary. His single arched eyebrow and hair-thin smile all pointed to the obvious.

"You had already thought of this." It was a statement.

"Yes. Furthermore, I think we can both agree that she is only placed in greater danger when partnered with... well I have already made that point."

Naruto exploded. "You think you can manipulate me? You think you can manipulate her? You think I'm going to let you manipulate either of us? Let's get one thing straight Hiashi: I will kill you if you try to force her again. She tried to commit suicide by duel to get out of it, and no partner of mine is getting off that easy. If she ever wakes up I'll train her to be so fucking strong you'll shit that stick out of your ass and cut off your hands when you see exactly how pathetic your little "clan jutsu" is!"

Hiashi stood with murder in his eyes.

"I will not allow you to taint my daughter! I will slay her myself rather than see her possessed by a monster!"

"Well that's just too bad for you, Hiashi. 'Cause it's me, Shikamaru, and the ANBU boss who call the shots around here. She is mine." The Kyuubi ANBU hissed.

"You impudent-"

"Steal from me once and your in the hospital. Steal from me twice and you'll wish you were dead."

"I won't have to when I tell her of what you house!" The Lord of the Hyuuga sneered.

"You forget, Hiashi, that that is a capital offense."

At that the ordinarily imperturbable leader of the Hyuuga paused.

"This is not over." He said finally.

"It will be if you cross the line again, Hiashi."

Both were standing, hackles raised and fangs beared, ready to kill. The tension in the air was paplable, like an exploding tag flaming and about to explode.

Naruto's hand slowly reached into one of his pouches and Hiashi lowered his stance...

_CLACK!_

The sliding door slammed home as a panting Lee with flames visible in his eyes burst through into the room.

Both Naruto and Hiashi were slack jawed and bewildered, caught with their "pants down" so to speak.

"YOSH! NARUTO! I was told you would be here conversing with the esteemed elder of the Hyuuga!" He half-yelled in his normal waaaaay overly enthusiastic manner.

"You will explain-" Hiashi began.

"What the hell are you doing here, Lee?" Naruto finished for him, dangerously at that. The spandex-jonin had interupted a very improtant meeting... or murder.

"I am here to deliver a message." He bellowed with pride.

Then his face turned to one of anguish and he smacked his palm into his head and his eyes went wide.

"But I forgot it... _TO THE EXTREME_!"

Despite the killing energy in the air Lee managed to bring sweatdrops to the back of both the Hyuuga's and Uzumaki's heads.

"Which is why I have this note!" He continued happily, opening it as he spoke. "Oh, oh yeah," he said casually as if remembering to purchase milk when at the grocery store, "Hinata has come out of her coma."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"_WHAT?_"

* * *

Hanabi was up in an instant, sprinting then vaulting into her bedroom. She was so angry she didn't know what to do with herself. At Naruto for being a demon and for not telling her sister, for her father for speaking of both of them so coldly and explaining her condition to a complete stranger, and to her sister for associating and partnering with said demon.

'Not to mention she was in love with him... sister I already hate you for having what I do not. If you throw it away on him...'

Her head shot up, and through her red face and angry tears she screamed: "I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!"

* * *

Naruto had never run so fast in his life.

The buildings blurred so quickly that it made him dizzy. The air slashed at his face and stung his nostrils. His feat and legs complained with every abusive leap that he was being unreasonable (and his body could handle a lot). His vision was completely skewed by the tears in his eyes, from the wind, from happiness, from anger, or possibly all three.

She was alive! She had come back!

And he was furious.

How dare she do this to him? She had tried to kill herself! Now she had come out of it just like that and they were already allowing visitors?

It made him sick. Everyone there would be crying tears of joy and throwing themselves. Only he knew the truth, only he and Shikamaru had seen the last look on her face and the words she had mouthed the day she gave up on living.

"Goodbye."

Well he would tell her. He would set her straight.

Suddenly the hospital was in view and his mental rantings ceased. The receptionist at the hospital's entrance room was left with a gaping mouth that had yet to speak words when he rushed passed and completely ignored protocol. He didn't even waste time on the elevator, instead he vaulted up the staircase, taking the steps a flight at a time. He wasn't even hard for breath when he got to the fourteenth floor. He ran down the corridor heedless of patients and medics he passed, who all had the same outraged reactions on their faces. He made one left, then another, and then a last right before he saw it.

_Room 401_

The same room that he had been put in after he failed to catch Sasuke. The same room Iruka had been placed due to his injuries before he faced his execution. The same room that held all the haunted regrets of a life lived to its limit that still resulted in failure. The same room his partner had been placed and the same room he was about to enter to see her again.

He stopped five feet short of the door handle. His hands trembled and he had to force back tears.

'She's alive! She's alive!'

But at the same time he couldn't forgive her. She had tried to abandon him like everyone else. Like Sakura had for Sasuke. Like Sasuke had for Orochimaru. Like Iruka had for treason. And how she had... the worst possible way.

'I will not get emotional. I will not cry... I will not...'

He couldn't take it anymore. His hand ripped at the handle and he flung the door open, slamming it into the interior wall. What he found was untirely unexpected. The room was empty. Well, empty of anyone else besides her.

From behind a lifetime of abuse and deprivation a wounded girl stared through the windows of her soul: eyes of molten silver shaded with just the mildest hint of lavender. Her back was propped up against a pillow and her gaze regarded him both wearily and warily. There was a mixture of fear and exultation on her face at seeing him. Her sunken skin, even paler than usual, brightened slightly. The moisture rimming her eyes betrayed any stoicism she had attempted to manifest.

"N-n-naruto-k-kun." She stuttered as emotion choked off the rest of her words and tears began erupting from her eyes.

"Hina-chan..." It didn't even sound like him talking. There was so much awe in his voice that he swore it must have been someone else's.

'It's true. She is alive!'

He walked up to the bed, infinitely awkward and leaned over to give her a hug and then...

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" He screamed at the top of his lungs, shaking her violently with a bruising grip on her shoulders.

"Naru-chan-" She said in a small voice. "I'm s-s-sorry."

"Well sorry isn't good enough!" He yelled again. "If it didn't defeat the purpose I'd kill you myself for being so fucking stupid!"

She was bawling and he was only able to make out half of the words she said between the sobs that wracked her fragile frame.

"I...w-was...d-didn't...marry..." She cried between gasps like an injured toddler.

"How could you be so selfish?" He demanded harshly. "Did you think you could just give up on your commitments because you wanted to?"

"I-"

"Tried to kill yourself!" He yelled and shook her again.

He wanted to stop. He really did. He wanted to stop and hug her and tell her it would be alright. That he'd be there for her, that he was so happy she was alive again. Yet, for some strange reason all of that compacted and made him angry. Why should he? She had tried to take herself away from him! Nobody did that! He'd lost enough already, and he sure as hell wasn't going to lose Hinata. He'd beat sense into her if he had to. Even if he knew he was hurting her... He hardened himself once more.

"But-"

"I don't give a shit about "but!" Don't do it again! Ever! Do you understand me? Do you fucking understand, Hinata?"

His face was inches from hers now, as he screamed in a full fury.

Hinata swore he was going to do her some real damage, and she was barely coherent to start with. The nurses had given her some stimulants to keep her up for a little and to clear her head, but it still throbbed so painfully that half the time she couldn't speak, or hear, or even taste the inside of her own mouth it hurt so bad. Naruto's screaming was like a hammer cracking her skull every time he let out a word.

"Y-yes..." She managed when she found a brief reprieve from the pain.

That seemed to calm her partner a bit, and he deflated visibly. When he spoke again it was in a small voice, the smallest she had ever heard it, and so quiet that even in her heightened state it didn't ring harshly on her ears.

"Why did you do it, Hina-chan?"

She looked at him with the eyes of someone who had just been broken completely. Like the victims of brutality, rape and observed murder of a loved one he sometimes saw.

"I t-told you." She mumbled and looked down. Her fingers tried to poke together under the sheets, an old habit that was yet to die hard, but her arms wouldn't obey her. She had lost so much strength it was a struggle to keep her eyes open and speak at the same time. Then she dug deep and found that little bit of pride she had remaining. The one born into her as a Hyuuga. "I told you that night at Genma's before our first mission." Her eyes hardened to steel, unforgiving and absolute. "I'll never suffer a bad marriage."

It struck home and he stumbled back from the bed, dazed. A nurse came through door with a tray and he crashed into her and the medications fell to the floor like a bunch of marbles. He ran his back into the wall and stared at her in bewilderment.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, reprimanding him firmly. "This patient is barely strong enough to stay awake and you're here yelling at her?" She said in cold fury. "Get out of here and come back in a week during visiting hours. If you try to come earlier I'll see to it personally you are escorted out of here and taken before the Hokage. Do I make myself clear young man?"

Clearly she didn't know who she was talking too, but Naruto was so blindly hurt by Hinata's words that he didn't care. Instead he just nodded dumbly.

"Uh huh."

* * *

He ran out of the room, swerving like someone who had way too many drinks... and his head hurt worse than any hangover he could remember. Not that he could remember many hangovers.

More hurtful than the pounding in his head was the ache in his chest... his heart.

'She abandoned me too... she really did try to kill herself... I didn't imagine it.' He despaired. 'Some small part of me wanted to believe it was different, that I was wrong but... damnit! Why can't anyone ever care, ever? I wish Iruka-sensei was still here... or Ero-sennin or Baa-chan...'

Hot wetness poured down his cheeks in rivulets as he bounded through the nearest open window and onto the rooftop. As he ran away from his problem and his partner, he spared one last look at the water tower on top of the hospital. Somehow it had survived the assault on Konoha, but they never had patched the tank where he and Sasuke had nearly killed one another for the first time... the first in a never-ending line of pissing contents...

"Damnit!" He screamed and tore at his own hair. "Fuck! Shit!" People began looking at the banshee screaming overhead and pointing at him in alarm. "Why? Why? Why?"

The rest of the way home was made with his head buried in his hands. Somehow he made it without running into anything or falling, though breaking his neck right now would have been a mercy.

'She's no different from anyone else! What do I do now?' His rant continued mentally.

Several hours later his yelling and tears of fury had died down to the point could trust himself enough to get off of the bed and go to the bathroom; earlier he would have broken things.

He emptied and cleaned himself methodically. He brushed his teeth and hair. His hand reached for the switch to turn off the light, but he hesitated. He looked into the mirror and snarled.

Over the years he had developed a thick skin about the subject of his current fixation. In the past it had been his upbeat attitude. Later it had turned into his disregard for the thoughts and opinions of others. But now...

'The most important person in my life nearly died and the first thing I did was yell at her! I could have done anything else! Teased her, joked with her, told her I was worried... hell I could have kissed her!' He moved his head closer until it was mere inches from the mirror. He locked his gaze on his own eyes. They stared back cold and uncaring. Not capable of giving love, not capable of receiving love. 'I'm a monster.' He thought in self-loathing. 'I'm a fucking monster and everybody knows it! She was the only one who didn't judge me before and now I went and screwed that up too! Damnit! Damnit! DAMNIT!'

It was the first time he truly felt like he was a demon.

It was the first time he truly felt like others treated him like a demon.

And it was the first time he felt he deserved it.

He cursed his image and smashed the mirror with his face, the mercy he sought finally found him as he went unconscious.

Darkness.


	20. Blood Vow

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Time started around him again as he laid still above her, allowing her to calm down and allowing himself to soften inside her. He reached in one fluid motion and pulled the blankets and pillows back into the appropriate positions in the bed. Lifting her head, he positioned one of the pillows there, and then shifted so that he was lying beside her on the other pillow. His arms encircled her in a possessive embrace and she snuggled appreciatively into the warmth he offered. When she spoke it was through a haze of love and partially sated lust.

"It was my choice, koibito. If we have a child then it's the gods' will. Besides, we're being married in a few months and I doubt your uncle will raise a hair. Your not his heir." She rolled over and looked at him in the eye. "And I love you too. Come good or ill."

"Yeah….." Her dark haired lover replied distractedly.

She leaned forward and kissed him firmly on the lips, then withdrew and gave him a pout. "Something wrong, koi? If it's about my welfare, the shop will keep me busy and out of any dangerous ANBU work. Shikamaru already offered anyway, said that dealing with _you_ was already a full time job and he'd be happy to pay me if only the council weren't so stingy."

The thin lips of his face revealed the gravest of smiles, but his eyes were unchanged. "Koishii… that troubles me too, but not this day. It is about my cousin I worry."

Tenten sighed. The afterglow was being sapped away by the serious conversation. "And her relationship with the only unmarried 2nd generation sannin, right?" She asked with mild irritation. "We've gone over this a dozen times in the last week. With time he'll come around and everything will be fine. You worry too much, my love. These things have a way of working themselves out."

Neji gave her one of his rare loving gazes. "Your heart is a joy to all who would have it, Ten-chan, but I fear not everyone is as compassionate as you. The council is getting anxious about the instability of one of their top Names. She is not yet out of the hospital and our leaders have decided on only allowing one month of physical reconditioning before she must be fit for duty. That is concerning in and of itself, but it is not their opinions that most disturb me. I am, for once, personally invested in seeing my cousin happy."

Tenten looked at him with a smile on her face. It was not often that Neji spoke at such length. His stoic and calm demeanor was what had attracted her, being the polar opposite of her bubbly self. Of course she was practical and professional at all times, but few could top a Hyuuga in polite reservation. In fact, it came so naturally for him to speak in telegraphic sentences, she often had to… encourage him to talk to her more. This was one of the few times she did not. Understanding this, she kept her silence and let more of his thoughts slide out.

"I understand better than perhaps anyone else. Being bred and born Hyuuga even more so than myself in some respects, my cousin has yet to experience the undivided attention and care of another. I think that her partner could fulfill this, but he made need some help."

The brunette kunoichi looked skeptical. "I understand why you respect him Neji, but that man is a far-cry from his old self. I'm not sure he_ can_ love another entirely. Perhaps in some aspects yes, but he is _damaged_, koibito."

"Naruto-san has changed, that is undeniable. No one is ever completely lost. I am living proof of that." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, then leaned back and arched an eyebrow. "Can you imagine me sharing my bed with you without his intervention? I had thirteen years to accumulate my hatred and distrust. For Uzumaki-san, it has been but four years."

"Yes," Tenten agreed, "but remember that you were hurt when you were only a small child. You admit that you remember very little of your less-than-happy childhood. In the space of six months he lost his father, his mentor, and his mother."

"You are referring to Jiraiya-sama, Iruka-san, and Tsunade-sama, are you not?" He continued at her affirmative nod. "They were indeed terrible losses for him to suffer, but that he has continued to function is proof that their deaths did not destroy him completely. Hatake-san, Sasuke-san and Sakura-san, they are all precious to him. If for the last four years they alone were enough to sustain him, then surely there is a part of him still capable of caring deeply for others."

"Why is whenever we talk about something like this you always win?"

He smirked. "Because I choose to do more than simply agree to your whining as I normally do."

She elbowed him playfully in the ribs. "Careful, or I might just decide Lee-kun is more my type."

"I am doubtful he would accept your advances given your current association with me."

"He's like a brother and you know that."

"All the more reason for me to ignore such an idle threat." He propped himself against the headboard and rolled the kinks out of his neck. "And you have not succeeded in distracting me."

"Oh no?" She queried innocently, her eyes turning into big brown orbs. She rubbed herself sensuously against him. "That _can_ be arranged."

Neji let out a brief laugh.

"I'm sure it can, but it can wait. Remember, I also owe Naruto a debt of gratitude that I have yet to repay."

"And what is that for, my love?"

"You." He replied smartly. "For all he's been through he deserves the same, and so does my cousin. Besides, you always insisted they looked good together."

"You're not half-bad yourself, lover."

Her eyes lit up with mischief and she kissed him deeply. After several minutes of intense tongue sparring they parted for breath.

"It would be wise if I speak with him," Neji managed between his heavy breathing, "He is expected to return sometime this afternoon from his latest mission, and the results from his psyche test are in. I think my guidance would be appreciated."

Tenten gave him a look that could not be described as anything other than shamelessly wanton.

"And _I_ would appreciate if you guided _yourself_, lover." She said huskily, grabbing him in a very intimate manner and straddling him.

She gave him a coy look, one that would have looked more appropriate in a club than in bed with her fiancé. Then again, Neji always did have a thing for letting out his more playful side when they made love. Perhaps he was making up for how stuffily he acted outside of their private quarters.

"Perhaps we-" He began.

Any other words he might have spoken were cut off as she devoured his mouth yet again. When at last she did free him was no longer interested in words, though her screams would suffice. It was good for him anyway. He did himself harm when he got so worked up.

It was amazing what a little distraction could do to calm the nerves of Hyuuga Neji.

* * *

_He stood in and endless field of pure white. It stretched on to the edge of his vision in every direction. Emptiness, profound emptiness consumed him. It was light, yet he was cold. He could see clearly, but he felt blinded by darkness. He walked for hours. _

_It was all the same._

_"I was wondering when you would show up." A voice finally said._

_He turned, but there was no one there._

_"What?"_

_"We have expected you for some time now. Have you finally come to take responsibility?" The same speaker questioned tonelessly._

_He frowned. It was so confusing._

_"Am I dead?"_

_"Not yet."_

_"Then what am I doing here?" He asked impatiently._

_"This," a form shimmered in front of him and gestured with an ethereal arm, "is the void. It represents what your life has been, is, and will be."_

_He snorted. "This is a dream, moron. Not a fucking Christmas Carol."_

_He heard a lazy sigh that sounded very familiar coming from behind him. _

_"So have you accepted your part in my death?" A ragged looking sharingan wielder queried without any interest in his voice. Then, as an afterthought: "Traitor."_

_Naruto backed away from the shadowy image of his former sensei. "What?"_

_"You let us die, baka." Jiraiya interrupted, sagely as always._

_"If only you were stronger, we'd all still be here today." Tsunade added conversationally, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face._

_He found himself tied to the log again at the old training ground. Iruka sat with his back to a tree, several kunai and shuriken embedded in him._

_"Remember this? Remember how I stood up for you? How could you let this happen to me?" He stared on at his former student and shrugged in resignation. "You must be a demon. Perhaps not. A demon would be stronger to protect his friends and his kin."_

_Naruto screamed in outrage. "But I tried! I sacrificed everything for you! All of you!"_

_He would have died for them. He continued to live for them. What more could they possibly want of him?_

_A chilling voice that seeped deep into his bones filled the air._

_"Love....."_

_Naruto turned to see the long-dead figure of Pain-Nagato standing before him. His back was turned to the Kyuubi boy. In his hand he held a bloody metal rod._

_"Breeds sacrifice...." The menace in his voice was overwhelming.  
_

_"Which breeds hatred...."_

_Images flashed before his eyes so quickly he could not comprehend them. Yet, he understood their meaning. Hatred of others, hatred for the world, and his own personal hatred he reserved for himself._

_"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Naruto snarled savagely._

_He rushed blindly, charging a rasengan in a single hand. Pain turned just in time to receive a hole through his chest. His hands clutched desperately at the fatal arm that now pierced his body. Naruto looked up to sneer in his face. _

_His revenge was complete... but revenge for what? Some repressed memory was pulsing in the depths of his mind. What it was he could not guess, but it was maddening.  
_

_The blood lust that had hazed of his mind vanished when he saw two silvered eyes staring at him serenely._

_"Why, Naruto?" Hinata asked him as blood poured from her mouth. Her expression was calm and accepting. Tears streamed from here eyes, but not for herself. "Why?"_

_"Hina-"_

_She slumped forward and died. Naruto lunged to catch her, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't reach. As she fell, the ground suddenly opened up beneath them. Both plummeted into the gaping maw of a giant chasm. He hit the ground, but felt no pain. His partner's broken body was shadowed by a man sobbing over her. His nature was concealed by the dark tatters of weather worn robes that draped his muscular figure. All he could see were the eyes, a beguiling swirl of red and blue. They vaguely reminded him of the resengan._

_"If only we had been faster... if only we hadn't been so blind." The man muttered darkly to himself. His gaze fixed on the stricken Kyuubi container. "This is all your fault!" He screamed abruptly. "You should have known she would never abandon us! Why must you destroy everything?!"_

_"But I-"  
_

_And then he was alone, swinging on a single plank of wood suspended by two thick ropes. He watched as everyone else in the academy graduated without him._

_ And he was alone._

_

* * *

_Steel flashed in the moonlight and the sharp point of his master's kunai stopped but a millimeter from his pale skin.

Pure unadulterated hatred smoldered in the young ANBU's piercing blue eyes. For a moment Watari was sure Naruto would end his life. Slowly humanity began to return to his eyes. After several more seconds filled with tense silence, he was released.

"I told you not to wake me like that." The Kyuubi container growled.

"You were screaming in your sleep again." The rookie's eyes darted about nervously. "The enemy could've heard you."

Clouds eclipsed the glowing moon and the clearing was bathed in shadow.

Naruto slowly raised himself to his feet and made a gesture for silence.

He willed his senses to reach out and expand. Every whisper of wind or crack of branch rang in his eardrums. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Nothing." He said after a minute of tense and prolonged silence.

His partner was visibly relieved and returned to packing his things. Judging by the smell of the dampened woods it was about an hour before sunrise.

"Well, I'm up." Naruto said to no one in particular. "Might as well pack up and return Yamin's head to Shika early."

"Hokage-sama will be pleased?" Watari asked with a measure of anxiety.

"We got everything we needed to know out of him before he expired. I'm sure the shady bastard will get over it."

'But I'm not sure if I will.' He thought.

"So Omada was under Danzo's jurisdiction?"

"Apparently."

"And he was holding a reserve of Konaha's coffers in the case of emergency."

"It would appear so." Was his clipped response.

"Guess that's smart." The dull ANBU initiate continued. "Lord Danzo sure thinks ahead. I wonder how Konoha would have managed without him?"

'And this guy is older than me? What an idiot. No wonder the survival rate is so fucking low. How did he pass anyway?'

"I don't know." Naruto replied evenly to Watari's ignorant patriotism. "He got Konoha's debt under control in those first few years."

It was much easier to tell a lie when it was mostly the truth. Danzo _had_ saved them from having to fold entirely. They were still under the red line, but in another year or so they were expected to start recovering. Right now the fall was just slowing down. Shikamaru and the bandaged sharingan wielder had worked tirelessly to keep the village afloat. Increasing the ANBU force and lowering its standards was part of that.

Suicide missions paid better.

"Yeah."

Fortunately for Watari he shut up after that. Naruto was conscious of the thin line he was walking with his sanity, and testing it was not something he liked to do. He was messed up to begin with. Hinata had made it worse, her near death had made that _much_ worse, and now with the interrogation of the double-agent Yamin...

Naruto took a deep breath.

The man had supposedly worked for Omada personally. He hadn't confessed anything that would contradict the obvious, but Kakashi had taught Naruto during his ANBU training what it truly meant to look "underneath the underneath."

He had told Watari that he cut the man's tongue out so he would shut the hell up. His partner had been too frightened of his master to question his motives.

The seal on his tongue was all the evidence he needed. Only one man used that exact seal.

'And I know because Danzo couldn't put one on me.' He thought with some level of smug satisfaction. 'The Kyuubi's seal is long gone, but the after effect remains. Foreign chakra cannot be forced into my system indefinitely. But if Yamin was working for Danzo...'

That meant that Shikamaru knew. If Shikamaru knew, then he had just sent out his top rated ANBU to kill of one of Danzo's Ghost-ROOT; a division specific to those who were raised in the tutelage of the black ops. since they were old enough to walk. Void of all emotion, able to use their own death as a tool for their master. The Ghost-ROOT, like Sai, were the best.

This man was better.

The livid bruises on Naruto's face and chest were proof of that. The eight inch gash on his right tricep spoke to how close it had really been. Just a little higher and he would have hit a major artery and severed the tendon. How he had managed to cut his way through a rasengan was beyond him. Kakashi was right, as usual. Never underestimate an opponent... _ever._

The pain had deteriorated to a dull throb by now, and it was already beginning to show signs of healing. Most of the Kyuubi's benefits were still in effect even after the full merge. His healing had always been good when he was younger. It had weakened a little since then, but this wound was closing faster than any he had ever remembered. And he was _sure_ the punch to his face should have cracked his skull.

'Getting stronger still.' He thought dispassionately; with great focus: 'Getting into the classified archives of Konoha is difficult for even the best shinobi. The file Shikamaru gave me never mentioned any sighting, only that the records had been stolen. If Yamin stole them then no alarm would have been raised. Nobody questions ROOT.' His brows furrowed. 'So assuming Danzo ordered him to steal records and then give them to his man for safe keeping... Is he hiding something?'

That made no sense. Why would Danzo want to hide trade records? They weren't really valuable to anyone outside of Konoha, and the old warhawk _was_ loyal, even if he was twisted.

'So is Shikamaru the one? That makes even less sense.'

He was missing a puzzle piece and it was maddening. He growled in frustration at his own lack of processing power. If he had been Sakura he probably would have had flow charts ready for presentation by now.

'I'll have to do some sneak work. First things first, find the date the info was put on record. I know when it was stolen.'

He took a step back and let doubt set in. Was he just looking too deeply into this? Was it just some trivial mixed up communication? Could it all be a coincidence?

Unconsciously, the blonde ANBU quickened the pace towards Konoha.

There was no such thing as coincidence. Not when you were in ANBU.

* * *

He was angry. Angrier than he could remember in a long time.

'How could he do this to me? How could they possibly take that away from me?'

A blunted practice kunai burst through the chest of another training dummy and embedded itself in the far wall.

They had put him on mandatory vacation for a month. There were currently twenty-nine and one half days remaining.

'Stupid fucking psyche tests! I should kill whoever came up with that shit! Who cares if I fill in a couple wrong circles?! Damn!!'

Naruto slumped to the ground in exhaustion. He had been at it since they released him from debriefing. That had been nearly four hours ago. Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, and even Kakashi had been there. The four had worked together to force him to concede. They said that it was for his own good. At the same time, they had made it clear that he was expected to retrain his old partner during the allotted time.

_"Your profile has gotten significantly worse since your last testing." _

_"It would be beneficial for you to take a break." Ino continued. "Even the most hardened shinobi can start cracking after enough blood runs through their hands."_

_"And," Kakashi added, "your performance was much better with Night Orchid."_

_Naruto eyes had already glazed over in fury. After half an hour of violent argument, he had finally resigned himself to quietly exuding killing intent._

_"My success rate is still perfect."_

_"But your versatility has been crippled." The Nara leader eased himself back in his chair. "It seems anything other than a straight forward assassination or elimination mission is beyond your abilities. This last mission proved it. You were supposed to capture him, not bring me his head."_

_"You're out for blood Naruto." Kakashi looked straight at him. No book was involved in this meeting. "I've seen what happens to shinobi who go down that path. In the end it will be your blood that stains your gear."_

_"And it's my opinion that your the one best suited to help Night Orchid get back into shape. She's strong enough to do most things now, and will be released tomorrow morning. You are to be there to pick her up."_

_"Do I look like good teacher material to you?"_

_"No," Sakura admitted, "but you worked with her for an extended period of time. It's up to her to relearn any techniques. It's up to you to push her back up to par so she doesn't get killed in the field. You probably know her limits better than her father." _

_The 'and over my dead body will I expose her to the bastard who was responsible for her injuries.' Was left unsaid._

_"You are dismissed from the ANBU for now, Dark Fox. You wont reclaim your call sign or Name until Sakura-san and Ino-san deem you and your partner fit for duty."_

_Automatically he opened his mouth to deliver his favorite telegraphic sentence of monosyllabic words. They had no effect.  
_

_"That will be all, Uzumaki-san." The word "Uzumaki" was stressed, making it clear that the Hokage had just made his word final._

That last target had been Shikamaru, or so Naruto had invisioned. The other "victims" already had numerous metal projectiles stuck in and through them.

"Venting?" A voice cold and smooth as stone asked impassively.

"Neji." Naruto acknowledged, standing to meet the Hyuuga's gaze. "You're here about your cousin?"

"Yes."

"Well spit it out then. I've been handed a lot of shit today. A little more isn't going to make much difference."

"Fortunately, I am not here to test that statement." He said dryly.

"Then why _are_ you here, Neji?" Naruto went about gathering his kunai, paying as little attention to the jyuken master as possible.

"Because I owe you a great debt." He said calmly, taking a seat on a dusty bench, yet still looking regal somehow.

"Not_ this_ crap again." Naruto said just loud enough for the Hyuuga to hear. "Fine, let's here it."

"I was told that Hinata-sama intended to dispose of herself." He began gravely.

"Shoving a bunch of metal through your chest... it's difficult to justify it as anything else." The irreverent response was accompanied by a cracking sound as Naruto withdrew the kunai that had gone into the wall.

"Have you contemplated why she would do this?"

"Because she was tired of all of it. She gave up on her own life because she didn't have the guts to live it."

Neji cursed inwardly. This was going to be much harder than he had initially predicted.

"Simplified, but yes I think that is why." He picked his words carefully. "Have you never felt this way?"

Naruto deposited the last of the kunai into his holster, each making a dull _tink-tink_ sound as they settled. He wiped his the dirt off of his hands and moved to sit by his comrade. Neji was only a little bit surprised to see him remove a small flask from his jacket pouch. The contents smelled of strong alcohol. The slight twitch of the probationary ANBU's face muscles confirmed what his nose had detected. Naruto didn't care to offer him some, though he did grace him with a challenging glare.

"Yes. All the time. And _I'm_ still here. Duty comes before any one person. I bear any burden with pride, knowing that every ounce of pain I suffer is one more Konoha will be spared."

"You have the freedom to make your own choices." Neji countered, gazing at a bird taking wing from it's nest. "If you recall our match those many years ago, the Hyuuga are not so lucky. I used to believe that as a Cadet branch family member I suffered more than any other, and I accepted that. After your little..." His lips twitched as he searched for the word, " motivational speech, I examined my lot more closely. A branch member has many duties and responsibilities as a servant of the Main branch. However, we have little personal responsibility. I can choose what I do outside of my duties. I am sure you have heard of my relationship with Tenten?" He had to work to cover any embarrassment he experienced- he still wasn't comfortable about it being public information. At the same time, he needed to make his angle very clear.

"So what's your point?" Naruto cracked his knuckles. He was not feeling very patient this day.

"What my point is, is that Hinata-sama never had any hope of achieving what I have had outside of clan duties. She was born and bred for a single purpose: to continue the Main line. That she has known this fate the whole of her life has made it more difficult to accept. Her current self is an alter-ego she created to combat this helplessness."

Neji's words sparked the memory of the conclusion of their first mission. She had been so... cold then. An entirely different person.

_I'm not weak like her_

"That is no excuse. She should accept what is required of her and move on." Naruto said between tight lips.

"What if you were required to be... oh say street peddler, for the rest of your life?"

_That person died because people refused to accept her for who she was_

"I would obviously be very angry and try to change. But that's different from Hinata-san's problem."

"Not in principle."

_ In an attempt to change her life...  
_

"Your just here to make sure I don't make her worse during this bullshit training thing I've been stuck with. I'm not even the best person to do it. I should be out doing missions, not busting some injured ANBU's ass back into shape."

Neji could have chuckled at how easily Naruto had trapped himself. "That is no excuse. You should accept what is required of you and move on." He quoted.

_she sought to become a great shinobi-_

"You-" Naruto stumbled on his words. "Alright, fine. Point won."

'That was easy.' Neji thought, dumbfounded. He would have been less surprised had the man stood up and shoved a kunai through his throat.

"Try to understand, Naruto. She is in every way as trapped as you, and worse. Why do you think she joined ANBU in the first place?"

_ the strongest kunoichi in the world..._

"Not to kill herself." Naruto's words were slow and steady.

"Oh? Then why would she want to destroy the life her former self was powerless to overcome?" Neji asked.

_She was excess baggage_

"Because she forgot." He said simply.

"That?" Neji prompted.

_A shinobi has no emotions_

"That she was not powerless. Not even when she was a genin."

"You are speaking of when she fought me in the preliminaries." He stated. "That defiant streak she developed?"

_In truth I don't think she's completely dead..._

"Yeah." When he spoke it was as if he were someplace else entirely. "Her eyes... she said goodbye just before she did it."

"Her fight with Killer Bee? I thought you agreed she'd overcome her previous weakness?"

_ but I doubt she'll recover_

"It wasn't a weakness. The ability to change and inspire others... is strength." His voice was bold and sure this time.

"Oh?" The sudden change had Neji wondering yet again what they young ANBU was thinking.

Naruto stood. The hatred in his eyes was overwhelming. The heat behind his words scorched the air.

"I once vowed on her blood to beat you."

"I remember."

"Back then I hated others telling people what they could expect out of life."

"Yes." There was a hint of uneasiness in Neji's reply, but he had a feeling this wasn't about him.

"Shikamaru reminded me of that today, and he's only forcing me into something for one month."

The Hyuuga stoked the flames. "And her life was predetermined before she was born."

"I vowed on her blood again that if she died..." He let out a long and shuddering breath. "Well it's something that I can't do. Besides, she made it clear that her current fate is worse than death- or at least she feels that way. I've never gone back on my word before, so that means I'll have to make sure someone _else_ can..."

Silence.

"........"

"........"

Then: "I assume you have a plan?" Neji asked.

Naruto gazed boldly into his eyes. "Yes. I have a plan."

"Would you mind sharing it with me?"

"It's simple. I plan on making her strong enough to kill every last one of you white-eyed freaks, men, women and children, until she gets to the very last one that tries to control her, and then if he doesn't let her go, I'll kill him myself."


	21. Invincible

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Well this complicates things." Kakashi said to himself. "That kid is such a pain sometimes... well it's a step in the right direction even if he is twisted."

In truth, the sharingan wielder felt remorse for what he had let his student become. Accepting his failure was just one more thing to shove into the sake bottle with the rest of his problems. He sighed and uninhabited the tree branch he had been occupying. He touched down lightly and directly in the blind spot. Still, the Hyuuga addressed him without any obvious surprise.

"Satisfied?"

"Yes."

Neji stood slowly and fixed his raptor gaze upon the taller man. "Do you think he means it?"

"Absolutely."

"And you aren't concerned?"

"It wont get that far. We plan to move in only a few more months. Your honored uncle can take care of himself."

"And Hinata-sama?"

Kakashi grinned. "She'll be fine. Even if he doesn't know it yet, the boy has feelings for her."

"Do you have any idea exactly what kind of 'feelings' Uzumaki-san is capable of expressing?"

"He's human and that's all he needs. We haven't really evolved much over the past several thousand years."

Neji arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The Hatake apologized sarcastically. "All of us _except_ the Hyuuga."

"You are learning, aren't you?"

"To entertain illusioned clients?"

Neji walked passed him, a faint smile on his lips. "Your next assignment."

A small note was passed into the senior jonin's palm. He tucked it into a pouch immediately.

"A lower profile is useful."

"Being _his_ correspondent is invaluable. Do not forget my part in the deal."

"Getting what you want? That's all anyone ever talks about."

"Ah, but what I want will also give my cousin what she wants."

"Naruto?" The sharingan wielder asked.

"We'll see. What matters is her _potential_."

"Which is?"

"What Naruto said, of course." Neji disappeared in a leaf shunshin, but his words echoed throughout the training grounds. "The strongest kunoichi in the world..."

* * *

Konoha at dawn was a beautiful sight. The warm orange glow of the sun painted the walls of the village a brilliant gold. The sky still held many stars, but they were only light freckles against the receding darkness of the night. The crisp and fresh smell that is common of mornings everywhere mixed with the woodsy smell of the giant trees that gave the village its name. The only activity visible were the night watches, who were just being relieved by their fellow guards. The torches that lined the numerous roads of the city were put out one by one.

Naruto watched each of them flicker and die. Each and every one struggled futilely against their fate, suffocating under the cruel visage of cold steel. It was striking how one could compare most happenings with death when he himself was an agent of it. How many countless lives had he snuffed out in the same way? How many brilliant fires, the souls of humanity, had he doused with as little remorse as the watchmen who put out the street lamps?

_One day you'll wake up and every drop of blood you've spilled will come back to haunt you. When you finally get out of the service and commit yourself to life, you will still be plagued by death. That is the fate of all ANBU._

Kakashi, the bastard, was probably right. He felt numb, terribly cold inside. ﻿It was as if some jutsu had wrapped his heart in ice. Whenever he started to feel anything other than anger, it hurt, pressing up against the cold barrier he had formed.

ANBU couldn't have emotions. Feelings resulted in hesitation. Hesitation meant death. Kill your emotions and kill the target. Worry about the damage later.

How many lives had he ruined? How many men had he slaughtered that had wives and families to go back to? How would he feel if someone kill Sasuke, or Kakashi?

'And Hinata...'

It was too painful to think about and he pushed it back again. He had been so close, so close to something. He could feel her in his bones. He had been happy, or at least he thought he was. He couldn't really remember what that felt like anymore. Still, he was pretty sure that he had experienced the emotion.

Then she had tried to kill herself.

Leave him, like everyone else.

The old man had been first. It wasn't really his fault, and he was old anyway. It had hurt him greatly then. He always had the answers, and he was always kind. How he had wept for him when he had passed...

'Orochimaru..'

He had been angry that Sasuke had killed him. He had wanted to do it himself.

And then Sasuke left.

He had tried to forgive him, and for a time he thought he really could. He had always tried to bring him back. That hadn't worked. Being selfish made him leave. Being selfish brought him back. Sasuke had realized he had nothing left. They had beaten the strongest shinobi to ever draw breath. What more could he do than return to his old self? After all, he had insisted that rebuilding his clan was a priority.

'Bastard.'

He had stolen Sakura. No matter how awful she had been to him, Naruto still was bitter about it. Now he had prospective, and understood that she was wrong for him. She had treated him like shit and taken him for granted. Sasuke had dominated her thoughts the entire time. He was just the neglected bowl of ramen that sat cooling in the corner.

Tsunade died not long after the battle with Pain. The coma had been permanent. Danzo had them pull the plug.

Naruto cracked a morose smile. 'Maybe ero-sennin finally got her in heaven.'

That had been bad, Jiraiya's death. Yet, Pain had redeemed himself, and so his life wasn't in vain.

He felt anger boil over inside of him.

Iruka. They had killed Iruka and he still didn't know why. He had checked everything- every file he had access to in ROOT and there was nothing about an order for his execution. It was probably in a black box somewhere, hidden from the prying eyes of anyone but Danzo and his Ghosts.

His shoulders slumped forward and his rage cooled. He was left feeling the same. Cold, numb, alone. It was only during these times that he found himself helpless. Whenever he focused on all that pain, he was reduced to the level of a common man. Plagued by doubts and fears; his own death. Of what his life had been worth. If anyone would remember his name when he was gone. Would people cry at his funeral? Would they even come? Would they celebrate that the Kyuubi had died with him? Would anyone care at all?

They were stupid thoughts and he knew it, but he let them sit there. Depression was seductive, and when it caught one in its clutches it was stubborn to let go. He let the shadows consume him. If he did it now it was less likely to happen in the field. Death... he was not ready for it. Not yet.

It left him cold again and he had an epiphany.

Sadness. He could feel sadness too.

'Why is it so painful? Am I so weak?' He twirled a shuriken on his index finger. It slowed and the polished surface revealed his stony expression. There were tears in his eyes.

He put the shuriken away.

As the last star winked out of existence in the dawn sky, he knew that's what his fate would be. One day his fire would go out too. It would be quick, and he would be lost among the countless others of the fading into the cosmos. The world would keep on turning without him.

Why did that make him so morbid? He was a tool, and a good one. Konoha would put him down in the history books. He would get his place on the headstone where the name's of all the villages heroes lived on forever. Back when he was a genin that had been his dream... well he thought so until Kakashi had enlightened him. But everybody died, right? No one would live forever. Whether by the blade or the slow decay of time death claimed everyone. The memorial was just another representation of the end.

'I'll die, Sasuke will die, Kakashi will die... everyone dies...'

A sudden thought struck him. Hard.

'Hinata will die.'

Would anyone remember her? Would anyone care about her?

He felt tears flow freely down his cheeks. Once again he had let her in, let her hurt him. 'But I want it... this pain is somehow more real to me.'

"If you die, Hina-chan, I will place flowers on your headstone. If I die, Hina-chan, will orchids grow on my grave?"

* * *

She didn't want to wake up. She burrowed farther under the covers and placed a pillow on top of her head. When that didn't work she curled into a ball as tight as she could and shut her eyes. She willed the world to go away, and for just a moment, she was not herself. She wouldn't have to wake up to see him again. He couldn't hurt her or touch her here. She wouldn't have to marry anyone. No pain, no confusing emotions. No Hyuuga Hinata.

In that place between dreams and wakefulness she pictured him. Eyes piercing and vast, like the cold and unforgiving sky, like the ocean- unpredictable and treacherous, yet at the same time a gentle partner. Her fevered dreams had been filled with him. He took every form. Her father, her cousin... her lover and her husband, her savior and her murderer. In psyche she had learned that anything in her dream was in fact a representation of a particular facet of herself, but deep down she knew this was different. He was always there, and in a way he never had been before. When she was younger she had willfully admired him. Now she didn't have a choice. No matter how badly she hated him, no matter how hard she tried to be rebellious against his cruel scrutiny... she still couldn't get that damn smile out of her head.

One moment she wanted to kill him and another she wanted to make love to him. She would have torn her hair out, had she the strength. Currently walking and lifting her own cup was the limit. It was just so damned confusing! Kami knew she had used every trick she knew of to deal with it. She had tried focusing on it, trying to work it out with logic and failed miserably. What she was trying to decipher had little to nothing to do with logic. Then she had shoved it into a tiny box in the corner of her mind. That had been even worse. Eventually the container had ruptured and she nearly went insane. How she hadn't murdered or raped him was beyond her.

'Well, hell Hinata. If this is love then maybe you did make the right decision... Kami if it _is_ love than I was an _idiot_ when I was younger. Who in the name of Kami would want this? Sakura never told me about this. Neither did Tenten. No... what I feel for him. It's definitely not love, no way.'

She thought and thought until her mind was exhausted. Finally any strand of conscious reasoning faded into darkness. It was her only release, her only sanctuary. Mental and physical exhaustion brought oblivion... when she was lucky. Most of the time she dreamed again- and so the circle would continue.

The lights flicked on.

"Time for breakfast."

A woman of medium build with dark ragged hair, and even darker circles under her eyes entered the room.

"Shizune-chan." Hinata said weakly.

"I know, it's crap. You still have to eat it. And you're not _that_ tired. You've had a week since you came out of your coma."

The Hyuuga heiress huffed and crossed her arms. "I still think I'm being let out too early."

"What you mean is," Shizune amplified, "that you don't want to deal with your partner."

"I..." She grit her teeth when no more words would come.

"It's going to rain today." The medic-nin set the bed tray down and raised the hospital bed using the little elevator device.

It hinged forward and Hinata was forced to sit upright. She remained silent, picking at her food. Her appetite had yet to come back. She had grown very thin during her lengthy retreat from the world of the conscious. Her sunken cheeks and eyes attested to how far she had to go.

"Well, all things considered, your recovery has been remarkable. Normally it takes a few weeks before we release someone from the hospital after such injury. As shinobi it's easy to overexert ourselves since we naturally tap chakra even in daily life."

Hinata was perplexed too. Sakura had explained to her that she had lost a lot of blood and gone into shock. Someone who was on the scene volunteered to donate some of theirs.... a lot of theirs. She had seen some of the file. How one person had been able to give that much... even _if_ they used blood replenishment pills... three quarts was a _lot_ of blood.

"Anyway," Shizune continued on heedless of the woeful Hyuuga's state, "Sakura-san will be here in a few minutes. There is some choice information she wanted to give you about your recovery."

She babbled on for another minute or two, checking blood pressure and pulse as she went. It was all automatic- she had been in this sort of daze since Iruka died. Finally her endless small talk concluded with the last part of her checkup, and she walked out of the door and on to the next patient.

Hinata had just finished her breakfast when Sakura came in. The clock on the wall read 7:40.

"Shizune said you had some things to tell me?" She asked softly.

"Not really, I just wanted to give you some advice before you leave. I'm sure you know to take it easy for the first week. Just light exercise. Don't worry about getting your strength back- it will come in its own time."

Hinata gulped down the last of the orange juice and let out a small sigh.

"Oh don't look so depressed. Naruto's going to be here at eight. You know how he feels about the 'woe is me' bit. Anyway, the advice I have... really it's just some information about him."

"Naruto-kun?" She hadn't been expecting that.

"Hinata." Sakura sat in the chair beside her bed. "Naruto came in here and sat by your bedside until visiting hours ended, every day, for the last five days before you awoke."

"He did, did he?"

She was clearly confused, so Sakura continued. "He feels it was his fault. I heard about his tirade- the one he gave you. You have to understand what he must have been feeling. Have you ever seen a mother scream at her child for doing something dangerous?"

"You're saying Naruto thinks of me as a helpless kid?" She asked flatly.

"No," the 2nd generation sannin corrected, "What I am saying, is that he cares about you very much."

Hinata scowled. "You must be joking."

Sakura restrained a sigh. 'They're _both _blind... and I thought _he_ was thick!'

"Do you know what he told me after he brought you in? He was waiting outside the ER." It took her a moment to gather the necessary intensity. Without it, the point would've been lost. "He told me, and I quote: "She will live. Do you understand?" I don't think I've ever seen him so... well desperate."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"He's your partner. You have to work with him, and you live with him. I wont stand for your relationship with him to impede your recovery."

"Sure, and next you'll tell me to dance around in a circle three times with a rabbits foot and chant."

The god-medic stood abruptly. "If I can't convince you, then he will. When he get's here, ask him who the blood donor was. I've already checked you out- he'll be taking you home immediately."

It took a moment for Hinata to realize that 'home' was not in the Hyuuga compound. For some reason she had never correlated that word with the flat she shared with Naruto. Home... that would be wrong somehow.

She asked a question, but it was drowned out by a distant roar of thunder. Outside, it began to rain.

* * *

He was soaking by the time he entered the hospital, but he didn't care. It was early and nobody gave him a second glance.

He moved up the stairs slowly. Naruto could hear his own footsteps echoing down the empty corridor. The harsh fluorescent lights flickered in the hall and bounced off of the white tiles that made up the floor. It was all so bland. He really hated hospitals.

He stopped in front of her door and took a breath.

'No sense in stopping now.'

He twisted the handle and it clicked. The door opened inwards. He walked inside.

It was a great exercise of his will to not just turn on his heel and leave again. He was so conflicted he didn't really know what was going to come out of his mouth. All he knew was the emotions had been building behind that barrier he erected, and he was about to burst. He was at his limit. Whatever he needed to say was going to be said. He thought it was something along the lines of yelling at her again for being stupid. And yet, that couldn't be right either. Nevertheless, he would have to tell her. Even if it destroyed her... or him.

She sat in the bed staring at him. After a brief period of silence, she spoke.

"Well?"

"I'm not going to apologize." He said gruffly. "You shouldn't have tried to... you know."

"I'm alive aren't I?" 'Alive' was almost hissed.

Naruto crossed the distance in two strides and kneeled beside her. He took her hand. His grip was firm, almost painful.

"You were wrong." He said quietly. "But I was harsher than maybe I should have been."

"Wasn't that an apology?"

"No."

"I assume you're kneeling because there is something else you want to say." Hinata swung herself around so her feet were hanging off of the bed. Her eyes bore into him with intensity he hadn't expected. Still, she saw doubt in his eyes.

Naruto smirked and helped her to her feet. He didn't let go of her hand.

"You are strong."

She could tell then that something had changed in him. The power of his presence flooded her senses and wrapped her in warmth. Its touch was seductive, pulling her forward into his embrace. She let herself fall into him, and she was cocooned in strength. It poured through her body and she relished it. She could taste the power on her tongue. Her blood boiled in anticipation. Whatever had fueled this change in him, she was glad for it. In that instant of time between his words she had forgiven him everything. This was the man who was her partner.

The one she wanted.

"I am going to make you invincible."

She shivered as pleasant tingles worked their way down her spine. The words sparked desire in the depths of soul. He could give her what no one else could... what she had always known he could give her.

"Mmmm...."

"You are my partner. My partner must be my equal. Would you like to be invincible Hina-san?"

She smiled at him. The bold challenge in her eyes took his breath away... that hunger... the lust in her eyes was overwhelming. But it was not his body she wanted, or at least not only his body. The look she gave him was the same one Sasuke had worn at the Valley of the End. Except this time he was not the one being abandoned. This time he was willfully accepted. She was his.

"Yes." Her reply was breathy and hot in his ear.

His heart was galloping in his chest. Naruto visibly struggled to remain composed. "You will never know defeat again."

"Yes."

"You will be my only peer. The strongest kunoichi in the world." His words were a command and she shook violently against him in excitement.

Her breathing had accelerated now. She let herself slide from the bed and stood on her own feet. She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yes."

His eyes were intense and irresistible. "_You will never leave me_."

Hinata melted completely. "_Yes_."

He brought his face so close their foreheads touched. His strong arms crushed her chest against his. He could feel the pulse of his blood in her.

"You are _mine_."

"_Yes_," she said in a near pant, "but I must be your equal first."

He pushed her back only a fraction. His will pierced through her chest like a lance. "You _will_ be."

Her fingers traced the line of his jaw. "It was you."

"Hmmm?" His eyes glazed over at her touch.

"Dark Fox..." She placed her right hand over her heart. "Gave me his blood. My heart still beats because of you doesn't it?"

He licked his lips. "Yes."

She let the information filter to the back of her brain where her logical part resided. After several more seconds of thick silence the words began to take on meaning.

She let out a contented sigh. Maybe that was why she felt so strong. Why she had recovered so fast. It made sense and yet it didn't. She knew there was something abnormal about him. What it was she couldn't be sure, but she remembered how fast he healed and how resilient he was to damage. One day, one way or another, she would find out how. For now, she didn't feel it was the right time or place. Whatever the answer would be, she wasn't ready. She would have to get stronger first.

"Will you tell me what you are?" Her words betrayed her thoughts and her intentions.

He looked amused. "I was wondering when you would ask. More accurately, when I would decide to tell you."

"And?"

"Let's wait until you're ready." He removed one of his hands from behind her back and tweaked her nose. "Welcome back, Night Orchid."

Her reaction was simple. She kissed the corner of his mouth and breathed into his ear. "Thank you, Dark Fox."

At that moment Hinata realized why she needed him and he her, why their lives were forever bound to each other... or at least 'living' if not literal life. When she was with him she was no longer Hyuuga Hinata and he was no longer Uzumaki Naruto. Those were merely their alter-egos.

Their true names allowed them to escape from a world that had burned and tortured them. That hurt could never reach either of them. Not when they were Dark Fox and Night Orchid.

They were impervious.

They were ANBU.


	22. Life's Little Twists and Turns

'Iruka-sensei...'

Naruto's gaze revealed a mind blank of any thoughts. She saw this and used it to her advantage.

At the last moment he swerved crazily and barely dodged the pointed edge of steel that was aimed expertly at his throat. He stuck out his foot as though it were some small after-thought. She was unable to stop herself and tripped, falling to the ground in a small cloud of dust and dirt. She lay there quietly for several seconds. After she had caught her breath she stood and did her best to wipe some of the dirt off. Most of it still clung to her because of the sweat soaked harness she was wearing.

"Damn." Hinata cursed.

Naruto glanced at her, as if seeing her for the first time since their previous bout.

"Hn?"

"Don't you "hn" me."

"Oh, sorry." He took a step forward. "You're still too predictable. If you want to hit me you'll have to not care whether you do or not."

"Come again?" She crossed over to a stump where a canteen and some snacks were set up.

They had been spending fourteen hours a day training for the past several days. It was still only light, considering what they could have been doing, but it was brutal nonetheless. It didn't help any that he had literally force-fed her in the first two weeks. She had put on almost thirty pounds of body fat during that time, and she was only just beginning to loose that pudgy look she hated so much. She knew it had been necessary- she needed the energy stores so she could rebuild muscle quickly. Sakura had even agreed with him, though she had teased him for being inconsiderate of a woman's feelings.

She had to hand it to her partner- the man knew his business. They only had ten days left until the deadline and she was beginning to feel confident that she would be passable by the end of the month. She had recovered most of her flexibility due to a relentless stretching routine Naruto helped her develop and none of her techniques had suffered much.

The only real problem was physical fitness. It was possible to train one's body close to top performance in a few months. A single period of twenty eight days wasn't quite as simple. Despite the fifty pound weight harness she wore around her torso and the ten pound weights on her hands and the twenty pound weights on each leg, progress was frustrating and slow. Still, if she passed the test it didn't really matter much. Well, it was more an evaluation than a test. Naruto, Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru needed to give her the thumbs up and the council needed to pass a vote based on their views. Assuming most of it went in her favor there wouldn't be much cause for worry. Unfortunately the one that mattered most was also going to be the hardest to obtain.

'Damn it... Naruto.'

He had promised to make her invincible. It wasn't the final outcome she wondered about. He was a man who never went back on his word. He would see that his oath came to fruition. No, the real problem was his lack of concern. The way he went about her training was so detached it was almost casual. She understood that this was serious business. She needed to get stronger, but couldn't he lighten up just a little bit? Where was the wise-cracking superior she had grown so accustomed to? Where had that troublesome man gone?

"Naruto-kun." She prompted yet again.

"Oh." His eyes finally came into full focus. "Well, it's like this. You're too easy to read."

She bit back a groan. They had had this same conversation numerous times and he had never given her a good explanation.

"And?"

"Because of that, I can avoid you. Even if I am distracted, you're too present to weave through my threat radius."

She scowled. "In Japanese please."

"There are two ways to deal with killing intent. The first and less effective way is to overpower your opponent with mass amounts of spiritual pressure. In some cases this is actually the better choice, such as when fighting greater numbers that possess lesser skill. Intimidation is a powerful tool to any fighter, but in the case of a shinobi, it is vital. A powerful killing ki can stun your enemies for precious seconds, giving you the chance you need to kill them without risk to your own life."

"They taught us that in basic." Hinata reminded him not-so-politely.

He ignored her. Or at least she thought he did.

"The second and more effective way is to suppress it. If you leave no trace of aggression, your actions, particularly those associated with SKP- silent kill protocol, will be much more difficult to counter. When in live combat, this is also a valuable tool. If you reveal no intent, it is a lot harder to predict your movement. Supreme control over mind and body can make it an effort for even the sharingan to interpret motion."

At that she raised her eyebrows. "The sharingan?" She asked skeptically.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and smiled arrogantly. "Just ask Sasuke-teme how I beat him three times running with a rasengan to the back in our last couple bouts..."

"You know I never speak to him."

"You will now."

"I will?"

"Yeah... speaking of which. Oi!"

It was unbelievable she hadn't detected him.

"How long have you...?"

"One minute, twenty-two seconds." A distinctly monotone voice answered.

The Blue Hawk walked past her and towards Naruto, flicking his hair back and rolling the toothpick occupying his mouth across his tongue.

"Dobe." He acknowledged.

"Teme." The Dark Fox returned.

Hinata sighed. "I'm guessing this means more training?"

"Actually, no." Her partner confessed.

"No?"

"We're done for the day. Teme is here to discuss his findings with me. He's been observing the sparring sessions we've had for the past three days now. He'll help me pinpoint areas in which you can improve. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, but he _does_ have the sharingan."

Hinata looked skeptically at the dark-haired man.

"I owe him one." He said simply.

"I'll catch up with you later, Hina-chan."

That smile again. How was it he could be so cool and then...

"Alright. I'm making sushi tonight."

"Sounds good."

She gathered her things and departed, most likely heading for home and a shower.

Sasuke chuckled.

"What?" Naruto asked flatly.

"Is she your wife or your partner? Sakura refuses to cook meals after long work days." He cocked an eyebrow. "Fourteen hours of training and she still makes sushi for you? You're a lucky man, dobe."

"It's not like that." Naruto dismissed. "Sushi is one of the things she's allowed to eat that doesn't involve tofu and bean paste. That's the only reason she makes it."

"Why not take her out? Don't you think she deserves it?"

At that Naruto smiled ever so slightly. "If she is fully restored into our partnership I intend to."

"Take her out or ask her out?"

"Since when did you give a shit about my love life?"

"Since you had one."

"Pffft."

The blonde walked over to the stump and pulled out a ration bar, chewing thoroughly.

"Chewing it over with a Twix?" Sasuke jeered.

"Not exactly. How do you know that anyway? You don't watch T.V. last I checked."

Sasuke gave a little shutter. "Sakura is obsessed with the things. She has a private stock for whenever bitch-mode comes around."

Naruto laughed. "I still say she blackmailed you into the whole thing."

"It was entirely my decision."

"Uchiha pride."

"Uzumaki ignorance."

"Ignorance?" Naruto questioned.

"If I told you where it stems from you'd just deny it."

"Try me."

"Nope."

"Teme..."

The Uchiha reached down and spun a shuriken around his middle finger. He wore an expression that spoke to his eternal boredom with life.

"I'm here to discuss training methods, not your personal issues."

"Keh."

"Keh indeed. Have you been purposefully trying to hamper her development, or are you just dull?"

The blonde smirked. Now that was more like the arrogant asshole he knew.

"Alright then. What do you suggest?"

Sasuke smirked as he always did when he knew he had just one upped someone. "Well I have a few ideas..."

* * *

Salmon or tuna? Or maybe crab? Eel? Yes, eel. That was it.

What the hell... she hated eel. _Hated _it with a passion... but for some reason...

'Weird.' She thought. 'Whatever.'

She told the clerk behind the counter and he put some in a plastic container. He handed her the receipt automatically and smiled in a way she didn't appreciate, at least from a man.

She paid for it at the front and by the time she was out the door her mind had turned to food again... delicious savory eel with maybe some tempura...

Indulgence was a good thing occasionally. Or consistently a good thing if one only indulged herself in the right habits. It was lean like chicken anyway, right? Not really. Oh well, her body demanded eel and eel it would have... naturally it would need to be wrapped in seaweed and rice, avocado, celery and perhaps some tobiko.

Her mouth watered, her mind wandering to seductive thoughts of sticky buns...

Gods was it a sin to enjoy food so much? Over the past two weeks it had started to taste and smell a lot better. Hunger was indeed a good sauce. Still, she had been ravenous before, and that had been when she had gone days without eating at a pinch- usually on a mission, and food hadn't tasted that good then... It kind of made sense. She _was_ training like a maniac and pushing her physical limits to the extreme. Surely that could account for it?

'Screw it Hyuuga. You're a pig. Get over it.'

She half laughed, half giggled at the thought. She had gained a certain amount of respect for fat people during her forced weight gain. Sure she was only chubby at its peek, and a mere ten pounds or so stood between her and perfection once more, but it had given her a taste. Maybe fat people did have souls after all? Well, maybe. She knew Choji did... but his fat served a purpose. Now that she though about it, so had hers. She revoked her previous epiphany. Fat people didn't have souls.

'Damn I'm a nut job.'

Cashews immediately filled her brain.

'Why am I so damn hungry all the time?!'

It was a little unnerving. She had gained thirty pounds in like... two weeks? Cubes, yes, cubes of butter and tubs of ice cream had done the job. Somehow she had lost twenty of that in less than half the time. Was that even possible? Then again twelve hours of exercise a day... shit no way. She was still eating, wasn't she? It must have been her metabolism. Perhaps healing and the stress she was under had bumped it up a couple of notches.

She'd have to ask Ino or Sakura about it. She was sure they knew all there was to know about weight cuts- the shallow bitches.

She smirked and then frowned. Since when had she started feeling so... powerful? So superior? Was it the moment she realized she wouldn't get anything out of life if she relied on others? Had devoting herself to strength made her descend this far? This primal, yet intangible feeling of lust for _something_... was it wholly her own?

_Would you like to be invincible, Hina_-san?

Oh yes. _Hell _yes.

It was hers and she loved it. She needed it with a passion that she'd never needed anything else with. Maybe it was that she was only now capable of wanting for herself- of being wanton for power. She beat out her insecurities (or so she thought) and brought out what she knew should have been bred into her from the beginning. Confidence- the Hyuuga trump card over all other beings. She was superior, destined for great things. Her ambition would drive her to new heights the likes of which no kunoichi had ever seen before. She would be the best, invincible, and it was all thanks to the only one who would remain her sole equal and peer.

_You're mine._

A cool shiver ran from tips of her toes to the top of her spine.

Those words scared the living shit out of her. More than anything else she had ever faced. This man, no, this _demon_ wanted her. This all powerful and hungry thing would consume her soul and she would give herself willingly, she knew. Perhaps deep down she had always known that one way or another that small part of her would remain- would continue it's miserable existence and seek him out. Well if she had to deal, so be it. He was a catch in the first place, wasn't he? She still mulled over why her father had been so resistant. Sure he was... unique, as Shikamaru had informed her, but surely his loyalty went beyond the influence of his... _special_ abilities. He had great power yes, but a power that could be controlled. That should have been attractive to her father and the elders, yet they still held his grudge... The ignorance some people had astounded her. Naruto was everything a woman could want for. He was rich, handsome, powerful, heir to a famous clan, sole descendant of the legendary Yellow Flash, loyal to a fault and...

'His eyes... who could look away from his eyes?'

Apparently a lot of people. Shinobi always married early and had children early. Kakashi and Anko were a spinster couple in the eyes of the community. Nineteen and unmarried with his credentials? Certainly he must have had numerous offers. On the other hand he wasn't romantically inclined...

She stopped herself on that thread.

'Kami-sama- I'm trying to unravel the mystery that is Uzumaki Naruto. If you looked up futility in the encyclopedia your picture would be right there, girl. Get a grip!'

The walk home was filled with more of the same. Hinata switched between drooling over the images of food floating through her head, fantasizing about her partner, and berating herself for acting like an idiot.

She was so practiced in the kitchen that cooking dinner was done with nearly no identifiable thought process. When it was all done she arranged it prettily, as she had once done when she was a young girl. She recalled with clarity the few times he had blatantly informed her that her cooking would make her a good wife someday. Oh how entrapped she'd been then by his foolish and ridiculous charms... oh how oblivious he'd been to how much those comments had affected her...

'Good wife?' She smiled. 'Feh.'

Naruto still teased her about being said "good wife" one day, but she knew that unlike his younger self, this one both informed _and_ sarcastic.

Not that she _wouldn't_ make a good wife. It was just that the Kyuubi container knew she hadn't the slightest inclination. Though, assuming she did, he might be surprised at her opinions. Maybe someday way down the road, given that she wasn't killed in the line of duty, she would like to have a family and a husband. She had only said she would never suffer a _bad_ marriage, not that she would never marry. If she did, he would be everything she needed and wanted- she wouldn't make any compromises... and he would be hers and only hers. She would wrap her legs around him and he would never escape...

'Damn it!'

Again, again he stole into her mind! She knew she wanted him, that topic was not in question. She wanted him physically at least, and she was beginning to admit probably more- but just not _now._ There would be time for that later- when she was invincible and she could keep him. For now she had to focus on getting stronger. A small voice in the back of her head tried to point out that life was short and to grasp what she wanted and never let it go. She ignored it with expert indifference and went to the wine cooler to select beverages.

She sighed at the selection of healthy juices and protein drinks. She wanted a Coke damnit! She wanted a double chocolate sunday with whipped cream and a cherry on top- not this green puke shit! Okay, so it didn't taste _that_ bad, and she was feeling good because of the improved diet, but she'd be damned if she wasn't able to cut loose once this training frenzy was over.

She reluctantly removed the least volatile of the drinks- an orange and pomegranate combo with added vitamin supplements.

Maybe he would take her out after they were done? Maybe these last ten days of endless torture would vanish and he would take her some place nice. The bastard STILL hadn't gotten her anything for her birthday. At the same time it was difficult to blame him- she was the one who nearly died on her own birthday. Why wouldn't he have difficulty remembering in the face of her near death? He had proved he cared for her, wasn't that enough?

She knew it wasn't. She was a fickle bitch who liked presents. Oh well.

"Oi Hina-san! I'm baaack!"

That obnoxious prick. He only called her "chan" in front of others. He had explained to her that she would only earn his public acknowledgment when she was invincible, the arrogant Son of A. As to why he wasn't informal in private... she suspected it had to do with boundary issues. Gods knew there was enough awkwardness in their relationship in the passing moments of mutual, if unintentional, affection. Better to keep at a safe distance and not be tempted. And yet it was so easy to be tempted to be tempted...

"Hi, Naruto-kun."

She had "fallen back to the inner wall" so to speak since she had awoken from her dreamless month long nap. Now she was back to calling him what she had when she was a girl. In some way it made her happy. It was nice to remember that part of him that used to be so reckless. The smile, the obliviousness, the intellect that had yet to be harnessed- locked away by his own opinion of his IQ...

"Is that eel?" He asked suspiciously.

Her face reddened. "What does it look like baka? It's on the list, you know. I'm allowed to have it."

He shrugged off his top layer of clothing, only a sleeveless white unadorned muscle shirt hid the perfection that she knew was his torso. His chiseled chin and ripped arms were already enough to have her body tingling in that unfamiliar, yet familiar way. She knew all females experienced this... she herself just wasn't used to it. How could any Hyuuga _not_ be sexually repressed? She knew the mechanics- rape was addressed very early on in private classes taught only to kunoichi. Then there was the courtesan training for the occasional infiltration missions... So yes, she _knew_ what is was, she just didn't... want to deal with it.

"Gods, chill out Hina-san. I was only joking." He replied sincerely, if defensively.

He sat down and mumbled some irreverent parody of a blessing before digging in with little-to-no manners. He stopped to look up at her for a moment as she slowly chewed her food, getting every last bit of flavor she could out of every bite. Her lips moved in the most hypnotizing motion...

"This is really, really good. I mean really good. Like, better than usual." He said, leaning back and popping another roll in his mouth.

Her eyes only widened slightly, but a mild blush stole across her features that belied her embarrassment at the compliment.

'Like, better than usual? What the fuck...?'

"Why are you being so nice?" She asked slowly. "Does this have anything to do with what you and Sasuke-san talked about?"

He sipped at his own drink, a diet soda of some kind and winked at her. "That's for me to know and for you to suffer later." He said jovially.

'What's his game?'

He was acting... weird.

"What, I'm not _allowed_ to be nice every once in a while?"

"I expect you must have to release the pent up urges of the single uncorrupted corner of your soul from time to time." She quipped.

"There, you see? That wasn't so hard was it?"

"What?"

He glanced down at his plate, which his realized was now empty, then looked back up with a playful expression on his face. "Admitting I was right about something."

There was no real reason to be upset, but for some reason Hinata's temper had been tripled in intensity and sensitivity since her accident. Why this was she couldn't fathom.

Still...

"You insufferable son of a bitch!" She stood up and tossed her juice at him, which he avoided easily, laughing as he went.

They moved back and forth at each end of the table, playing a childish game of "which way am I going?" After a few more seconds Naruto leaped clear over the table in a neat flip, then reached out and snatched up her last three pieces of sushi. He had a devilish gleam in his eye.

"Don't. You. Dare." She hissed between gritted teeth.

His eyes widened in mock innocence. "Oh, you mean you _wanted_ these? But Hina-saaaan" he whined, "there soooo goooood."

She was lunging at his face to give him a healthy punch the second the last word left his lips. She hit him, but not before he had shoved one of the precious morsels into his mouth and swallowed, barely taking the time to chew. Then he poofed, as she should have expected he would, but the scenario was so childish and absurd that she hadn't even considered that he might have used a jutsu.

"Silent snap! No fair!" She yelled, getting more into it... whatever _it_ was.

She activated her bloodline and instantly found him, laying back in the big chair in the living room. Her image blurred and she appeared before him just in time to see him eat the second piece.

"Oh, hi Hina-san." He said nonchalantly.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you if you eat that last piece Naruto!" She warned.

He looked at her, considering, his face calm. "Hmmm... well that'd mean you were invincible if you could beat me, so I'm guessing that your bluffing. Clearly you are far from..."

This time she really did hit him, squarely in the chest. His breath came out with a "oof!" and he slumped over in pain for a split second. She exploited the opening and hit his hand with a jyuken strike and the last piece of sushi was delivered neatly into her palm.

She smirked triumphantly and held the delicate roll to her lips. She moved slowly, detecting no threat from her partner, who was openly gawking at her. She pushed the piece between her full lips and held it between her teeth, a bold challenge evident in her eyes.

Naruto smiled and made the sign for kage bunshin. She knew what he was going to do, and stepped forward and to the side. The punch that had been aimed to expel the sole survivor of her cooking out of her mouth flew by her harmlessly. But Naruto had anticipated her reaction, stepping forward and cutting her off, his face a mere inch from hers. He had a devious smile and he waggled his eyebrows. It was such an unnatural expression for him that she flinched.

In that split second the clone pushed her into him, knocking her mouth against his in a quasi-kiss that delivered the last piece into his mouth. He jumped back and opened his mouth, displaying his victory with visible glee.

Hinata saw red... literally, and charged. Had he not been in near hysterics at his own comical tactics Naruto probably would have dodged... but...

_Crack!_

She rammed into him and slammed him into the wall. When he bounced off she spun behind him and knocked his feet from under him. He recovered and laughed again. Then his eyes went wide in alarm and he gagged.

He was choking and reacting with absolutely no measure of calm or collected precision. The instinct to get whatever it was that was lodged in his throat took over and he looked at her with begging eyes.

She giggled, and she imagined it sounded high pitched and maniacal in her mind. She covered the distance in four short strides and placed herself behind him. She knew how to do it properly, but was feeling rather aggressive, so instead she just smacked the shit out of his back until the skin was red even through his thin shirt. After the sixth slap it came out and she reached forward and grabbed it.

Naruto sputtered and coughed and breathed in the air that had been deprived from him for all of thirty seconds. He turned around with a look of genuine thanks on his face and was halfway through giving her verbal acknowledgment when she popped the piece into her mouth, chewed and swallowed.

"You so did just not do that."

"Yup!" She remarked happily, her anger fading to a distant memory.

"You.. you..."

"Pig?" She provided.

"Y-yeah!"

She snorted unintentionally at the look on his face, but played it off like it had been done deliberately.

"Gods, how did I ever get stuck with you?" He shook his fists and looked up at the ceiling over dramatically.

Hinata let out a relieved sigh. It was so good to just act like a kid and be silly again. She had no idea what had sparked this bizarre farce, but she was happy it had happened.

"Thanks Naruto."

He slumped back into the big chair, looking confused. "Eh?"

"For just being you."

"O...kay?"

On impulse she leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, then giggled giddily and ran back into the kitchen.

Naruto touched his cheek, not exactly sure of what had just transpired. "Is this one of those girl things?" He asked loudly, over the sound of clacking pots and pans.

"You betcha!" She yelled back.

'My Gods, I'm going insane. I've finally fucking lost it.' He thought and smiled. Then mischief sparked in his eyes. 'This is gonna be good.'

He knew nearly no genjutsu... but he did know some basic alterations...

He picked up an ornamental rock and quickly weaved some chakra around it, then waltzed into the kitchen with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh Hina-chaaan..."

She looked up at her name and her mouth fell wide open. In his hand Naruto held a giant piece of German chocolate cake, her favorite dessert. Her mouth watered and she looked at him with utter desperation in her eyes.

"Naruto..." She was practically drooling.

He regarded the cake and then her. "What will you give me for it?"

In an instant she was kissing him, simultaneously removing the 'cake' from his hand. She jumped back after only few seconds of contact and popped it into her mouth.

"Ughh! Puh!" She spit it out and saw it for what it was and glared murder at him.

"Ah' c'mon, you know it was funny."

"You... you prick!"

She picked up a frying pan and threw it at him, it's velocity surprising him. It clipped the top of his head and impacted on the wall some yards behind.

He knew he should be taking her seriously, as she was currently wrecking their home... wait their home? Whatever, he just couldn't focus with the way she looked...

Sure she still had a few extra pounds, but she was still gorgeous, maybe a little more so because she looked more voluptuous even if that wasn't his taste in women. He shivered unpleasantly at the memory of that one time she had walked in on Baa-chan...

He was drawn to her eyes and face. She was flushed, her breast heaving with ire. Every part of him knew that it was fucked up, but she just looked so damn _sexy_ when she was mad!

It suddenly struck him as bat-shit-crazy hilarious and he fell to the ground in stitches, throwing her completely off guard.

"What... what the shit? Have you lost it?" Hinata demanded heatedly, still very angry.

He paused mid roll to reply briefly: "Yup!"

'Gods damn him. Gods _damn_ him!'

He was so freaking frustrating! Did he even know what he did to her?!

She decided suddenly that she had had enough of the charade and removed herself from the room, depositing herself on her bed.

After another minute or two her partner's hysterics wound down. Ten minutes after that he was standing in her doorway.

"Look I'm sorry if you're still mad, but I haven't had a good time like that in..." He actually thought about it. "Shit I don't know!" He said excitedly. "Maybe never!"

"What about being professional?" She half mumbled, half seethed face-down into her pillow. She knew she shouldn't have been angry...

"Ah c'mon. We're not in the workplace."

"Anywhere and everywhere is our workplace."

"Way-to-be a killjoy. Come on, admit it! This was fun!"

He was so genuinely happy she couldn't help but be dragged along with him. Slowly, very slowly she turned over and did her best to scowl. His face turned expressionless for a moment as he tried to study her state. After a moment his eyes narrowed and then crossed.

Hinata burst out laughing- she just couldn't take it anymore. He was infectious.

"Alright, fine. Forgiven."

He just smiled and sat down next to her, his hand playfully running through her hair as he smiled at her, _really_ smiled at her.

'Holy shit I could get used to this!' She thought suddenly. Then, nervously: 'Would that be a bad thing?'

As if reading her thoughts, Naruto said: "We can't act like this anywhere but in private you know... and I doubt it we'll be a regular thing knowing us."

He left out the last sentence that was so clearly waiting to be said, so she did it for him.

"Would you want it to be?"

The air was filled with a pregnant silence and both looked down and away from each other, sorting out their thoughts.

After perhaps half a minute Naruto broke the silence with an elongated sigh. "Yeah, I would... but..."

"You don't think we should?" She finished.

"Yeah." He said, shrugging.

Well, that was fine with her, she guessed. Still, it happened once so it was bound to happen again. That and she didn't know if she could handle this oh-too-happy Naruto more than just occasionally... he was just too... bright.

"So what _did_ you and Sasuke talk about?"

He smiled slyly. "Wouldn't _you_ like to know, Sunny."

"Sunny?"

"Hinata... Sunny."

"Oh HELL no." She crossed her arms and shook her head. "Uh-uh! No way."

"Please?" He asked.

It was so simple and obvious a gesture that it shocked the shit out of her.

"What did you say?"

"Pl-eaaaase?" He repeated, this time using his best puppy dog expression, his eyes big and round.

She caved. How in the seven hells was she supposed to say no to _that_?

"Fine but on one condition."

He almost jumped at how happy that little appeasement just made him. "What?"

"You owe me a piece of cake."

He smirked arrogantly.

"Or I could just kiss you." He said jokingly.

Silence again.

He chuckled nervously. "Ermm... maybe just the cake..." He trailed off.

She was looking at him... oh dear god she wasn't considering it was she?

She turned her body towards him, looking extremely nervous. "Ummm... I wouldn't mind..."

Wouldn't mind? Wouldn't mind? What the hell kind of answer was that?

Apparently the right one, because the next thing he knew he was cradling her in his arms and kissing her gently. There was no serious passion behind it... instead there was something worse- affection. That sickly warm feeling that bubbled up through his chest occasionally came bursting through. It warmed him to the core and he felt the endorphins being released throughout his body.

'Damn!' Was all he could manage to think.

Hinata was lost in the feeling of his tongue as it caressed hers, his firm lips pushing up against hers, the smell of his sweet, sweet breath. She drank him in slowly and savored every second. She felt her heart beating erratically in her chest and the heat that was beginning to pool in a less than decent area of her body. Oh gods, but his mouth was so, so hot!

After several minutes of slow and sensual exploration they pushed each other apart, both panting and slightly short of breath.

Then Hinata threw her head back and laughed.

"Well shit!" She said.

"What?" Naruto asked, his face a mix of affection, lust and... Gods knew what else.

"We're royally fucked- that's what." She said, wiping a tear from her eye. Whether it was caused by happiness, sadness, or just sheer insanity she didn't know.

He felt his stomach drop like a stone. "Oh... crap."

She looked at him, her lips still pouty and swollen from their misguided make-out. "_Now_ you get it."

With a weak smile: "Forget it happened?" He asked lamely.

"Yeah, I wish." She admitted truthfully. "But I don't think that's going to happen."

"So where does this put us?"

She looked thoughtful. "I don't know. Close friends and partners with an estranged sexual tension about them."

He rolled his eyes. "Too many words."

"Secret forbidden quasi-lover ANBU Operatives of the Hidden Leaf?" She suggested helpfully.

He smacked her lightly on the thigh. "Let's be serious. We've muddied the waters here."

"Okay, okay. Ummmm..." She bit her lip.

Damn that was sexy.

"How about just... partners?"

He considered her sincerity. "You, know, it's so ambiguous yet oddly appropriate and familiar it might work." He said, mimicking her over use of words.

Well they had gotten over that hurdle. He had to prioritize and figure this out.

Naturally he chose the next most important topic.

"So do I still get to call you Sunny?"

"Not on your life."

Just at that moment they heard a fluttering of wings and a note from a carrier bird was dropped through the window and into Hinata's lap. It was a common occurrence among the ANBU of Konoha for such a thing to happen. With no preamble Hinata opened it and scanned it's contents.

"Well?" Naruto asked impatiently, sounding a bit more like his usual self.

"It's a notice. All shinobi ranked Jonin or higher are to report immediately to the assembly hall next to the Hokage Tower."

Oh no... he had been kidding right? He wasn't actually serious when he said that, was he?

Naruto stood abruptly. "I have to put on another shirt. Let's get going."

Hinata followed suit and was ready for him when he stepped out the front door of the high walls of the shinobi only complex. They both flashed their ID's to the guard detail that was stationed their 24/7 to keep an eye on them. It was standard procedure after all.

"Ah, Uzumaki Naruto. I have special orders from Danzo-sama. He said that under the special emergency powers act that he has changed your Name's status to active again." The ROOT member informed him in a polite and professional monotone.

"Why Danzo-sama?" Hinata asked apprehensively. "There wouldn't be a need for emergency powers unless the Hokage... oh no."

Naruto winced. It was as he had feared.

"Rokudaime-sama has been assassinated."


	23. Into the Night

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

The clamor of the assembly was deafening.

Danzo grimaced from his central seat. His most trusted advisors and attendants surrounded him. Despite his outward show of stoicism the recent turn of events had left him very disturbed.

It was true he had planned to have the troublesome shadow user removed, but only after Konoha had made its full recovery and that wouldn't be for years. This in and of itself wouldn't have bothered him. Replacing the Hokage's position to another puppet was not difficult with the council on his side. The older generation respected him for his previous efforts to protect the great walled city. The young generation…

'Fools the lot of them.'

They were all soft. When people were soft they got irrational and overpowered by their own emotions. It took an iron will to keep them from going astray. With this incident his credibility would be brought into question once again. Disposing of Tsunade had been hard enough…

Well he hadn't exactly ordered her death. He had the option to wait for her recovery or replace her. After Shikamaru started wearing the Hokage hat it didn't take long for people to adapt. After that it had been as simple as pulling the plug.

The shred of compassion that lurked in the dark crevices of his heart mourned for the lost of the last Sannin. He had never been close to any of them (or anyone for that matter), but he had a deep respect for their actions during the war. He had considered it a personal affront when his favorite of the three had turned traitor. As for Jiraiya's death… well there were few who would deny that he was a great man.

One of his advisors murmured something in his ear, signaling him that it was time to begin.

"Are all of the jonin assembled?" He asked gruffly.

"Uchiha Sasuke is missing, sir." An attendant informed him.

"...The Uchiha...?"

"Yes, sir. Nobody has seen him since earlier this afternoon.

"He's not on a mission?" The old war hawk asked.

"No, sir. I had it checked."

"Very well. We can't keep the assembly waiting on one jonin. He can answer for his absence later."

Out of the corner of his eye Danzo saw the last of the jonin enter the large double doors that were promptly shut behind them. They struck an imposing figure, even in civilian clothing. The dictator of Konoha couldn't help but smirk at his own brilliance.

He had been wise to override Shikamaru's advice and put them together. The two of them, despite their personal problems, had proved to be the most powerful duo at his disposal.

For some reason his puppet had been set against it. It was for exactly this reason that he _did _put them together. He had not once stopped to consider that the shadow user had been manipulating him into doing the very thing he had wanted.

Hinata and Naruto arrived just in time not to be absent for the attendance check. When the Kyuubi container noticed Sasuke's absence he nearly missed a step on the way up to his seat. By the time he sat down he was as stiff as a board.

"Is everything alright?" Hinata whispered from her adjacent seat.

"He didn't..."

"Who didn't what Naruto-san?"

His eyes flickered down to his sandals and he remained silent.

Meanwhile, Danzo had taken the podium at the center of the room and was beginning to speak.

"If you don't know already, the Rokudaime has been assassinated." He informed gravely.

A collective gasp went up among about half of the jonin present.

"Our best team is working on the attack's origin. For now it is important that we react appropriately." His single eye gleamed. "I must put the village's emergency powers into action."

'In other words you rule unopposed for the time being.' Hinata thought coldly. 'But the ten thousand ryo question is who killed Shikamaru-kun?'

Danzo was suspect in her mind, but it didn't make sense. Why set up an obvious puppet only to have him removed? The calculating Hyuuga heiress was smart enough to look past her hatred of him and consider his motives. It just didn't add up.

"What is most important is that we appear strong despite this tragedy. It is the decision of the council that an envoy shall be sent to the Capital to keep their politicians in line. The Lord of Fire has already considered cutting our funding; however our steady recovery has maintained his interest and backing. We shall make a show of strength to him and hold a Ball in his honor."

Several snide comments were heard echoing through the large chamber, including a particularly loud one from the resident Uzumaki, but Danzo continued undeterred.

"We shall be sending the heirs of our two most prestigious clans in advance so that this news reaches the Capital by our own devices…" He trailed off and stared with an intensity that drew the rooms focus to a specific point. "Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, you have been honored with this task."

Naruto was the first to respond, nodding his head slowly as the wheels of his mind began to turn. He was being sent away at a crucial time. With Shikamaru's death, the discovery of the truth behind the documents Raven had stolen back from Lord Omada and Sasuke's absence he felt he almost had all the necessary pieces to figure put together the puzzle of political intrigue.

"Hai." He said without the slightest hint of emotion, hiding his thoughts.

Hinata only gave the slightest of nods.

"You are to leave at first light. A pair of our swiftest Hawks will get you there in two days."

* * *

A guard motioned for the duo to follow him out and they did so without question.

Hinata waited until she was sure that Danzo's ROOT had stopped tailing them

"So?" She asked.

"Hm?" Her partner answered quietly.

The two walked closely as they followed the darkened boulevard back to their apartment.

"Do you think Danzo-sama..."

"No," he cut her off, "I don't think so."

"Me either." She replied worriedly.

They matched each other stride for stride in silence until they turned the corner and went down a side street.

"Naruto-san?"

He spared her a glance. "Yeah?"

"I'm scared." She said quietly.

He knew immediately what she meant. She wasn't scared for herself, but for the fate of the whole village. Things had been rough over the last few years, and now just when they were beginning to achieve some semblance of stability a crisis occurred. Their home, their village, was now threatened to be torn apart by the cruel hand of politics and economics- things far beyond their control.

"Me too." He admitted in barely a whisper.

Her hand found his and he offered her a little squeeze of reassurance. Whatever happened to Konoha, they were still partners. They were trained shinobi and damned good ones at that. Even if the world fell apart around them they would have each other, and though neither cared to admit it, or even think upon it, they knew instinctually that it was true.

They arrived at the flat a few minutes later. Naruto flicked the light switches on and the darkened space quickly became a well lit sanctuary. Home had taken on a new meaning for both of them since Hinata had started living in what was once the guest room. For Naruto home was no longer a place of isolation and quiet brooding, but instead a sanctuary for his fragile and darkened state. For Hinata it was the first place she felt truly at ease. The Hyuuga estate had been big, cold, thin-walled, and a place of constant judgment. The barracks had been ok, but that feeling of bitter loneliness was never far away.

Naruto sat back on his large sofa, placing his feet on the low table. With a snap of his fingers a scroll popped into existence.

"…A week…" Hinata heard him mumble.

"What was that Naruto-kun?" She asked, sitting beside him.

"Two to get there, one to wait for the entourage, one to set up the ball, one for the event itself, and two do get back." He repeated, louder this time.

"We're already packed. Why the frown?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No, not really."

"Well, for starters we're being sent away when we should be staying here."

"Why's that?"

"Because one: we haven't finished your reconditioning. Two: this wipes any chance of investigating what the hells going on around here."

At that the young heiress smiled.

"You mean this?" She said, holding up a neatly kept folder.

"How did you get that?"

"You keep all of the stuff you don't want me to know about behind your ramen stash."

A faint hint of embarrassment crossed Naruto's face. "Yeah…"

"For being such a skilled shinobi you do some pretty dumb shit." Hinata continued light-heartedly. "Anyway I looked into the documents. At first I wasn't sure why you made a copy of them; yes I can tell. Then I remembered that mission we had a while back."

Naruto had to admit it. She was fucking smart.

"So you noticed?" It was more a statement than a question.

"That Shikamaru has been methodically pushing the village closer and closer to going bankrupt? Yeah, I noticed. Also…" Her eyes flicked over one of the pages that contained a list of items purchased. "With all of this he could supply a small army. The question is…"

"Where is all of it going?" Naruto finished for her. "The location is in some kind of encryption that has latitude and longitude coordinates. There's no way we can decipher it without a key."

"Exactly." She agreed, crossing her legs and leaning comfortably into his side as they both examined the papers and their own private thoughts.

"Well I think we can safely say that Shikamaru was playing a dangerous game and somebody caught him." Naruto supplied. "Thing is my last assignment was to take out one of Lord Omada's men. Supposedly he was the one who stole the documents."

He stared off into space, shivering now at the implications.

"And?" Hinata prompted.

"And he was one of Danzo's Ghost ROOT."

"Which is why he was able to steal them so easily in the first place." His partner continued, catching on quickly. "But why would Danzo need to steal the documents? He could just look at them."

Naruto chuckled. "I've been giving it a lot of thought, and I think he did it for two reasons. First off the records he ordered stolen were the real ones, not the ones Shikamaru tampered with. Second, even Shikamaru wouldn't have known of this guy's existence."

"In other words Danzo could see what was going on without Shikamaru knowing…"

"Precisely." The Kyuubi container acknowledged. "I withheld that detail from Shika when he debriefed me."

"But how did Shikamaru know to order the hit?"

"He didn't know it was Danzo's agent, but he has other sources."

"And what about Danzo finding out about it?"

"It was a black book operation."

In other words one that only the Hokage and the shinobi assigned would know about. Rumor had it that there was a book handed down with secrets only the Hokage could lay eyes on. Naruto didn't know if it existed or not, but either way Shikamaru had made it quite clear that the operation was just between the two of them.

"_I chose you because of the special properties you possess, such as immunity to control seals…"_

In other words he was the only regular ROOT member who didn't posses a silencing seal or command seal of some sort.

"Oh." Hinata replied slowly. "Naruto-san… if it was "black book" then why tell me? Aren't you committing treason right now?"

She wasn't really threatening him; rather she was uncertain of why he was being so inclusive. Normally he kept all of his reasoning behind closed doors. Why he was opening up now she wasn't sure. It could have been a number of things, but most likely it was the Hokage's death that had encouraged his odd behavior.

"Because, stupid," his tone was half irritated half banter, "who else am I going to talk to about this."

Between the lines Hinata realized was that he didn't want to do it alone and her eyes softened.

"You're my partner, Dark Fox. I will follow you, always."

She gripped his arm gently and he nodded ever so slightly. He was comforted, but at the same time uncomfortable because of what had transpired between them earlier. They were walking a fine line…

"I know." He half whispered.

She turned her torso towards him and leaned in, a questioning look in her eyes. He could feel her aura reaching out to him and his to her. It was like magnetism. The second a spark charged both of them they were drawn. The silent cry of two raw souls harmonized with each other. She was calling him with her siren's song and all he could do was gaze into her beautiful, shining, molten silver eyes.

Naruto gritted his teeth, attempting to resist the pull she had over him. He felt himself slowly giving in and pulling her closer. She was temptation personified…

A gentle knock at the door interrupted what might have been a fatal mistake on his part.

"Naruto? Naruto?" A shrill, but soft voice broke through the thick walls of the apartment.

There were only a few people who didn't use an honorific when addressing him, and only one woman as far as he knew…

"Sakura-chan." He acknowledged, unlocking and opening the door.

Her eyes darted nervously about, first at him, then at Hinata, then back to him again.

"Have you seen Sasuke?" She asked with anxiety clear in her voice. "He wasn't at the meeting… and-and-and…"

"Calm down." Naruto ordered, ushering her into a chair and retrieving a glass of water from the kitchen that he promptly handed to her.

Hinata just sat back and watched, only mildly interested in the Sharingan wielder's whereabouts.

The frazzled medic took a few gulps at the water and made a visible effort to calm herself. After a minute or so she looked up again, this time with a measure of emotional containment.

"He wasn't on a mission and he wasn't at the meeting." She explained.

"I know." Naruto said patiently. Not that he had anything against her… well maybe he did, but he just didn't have time for this shit! "Look, I'm sure he's fine. He's a valued shinobi of Konoha and heir to a clan that Danzo cannot afford to lose."

"B-but…"

"Just go home and have some tea. Heck he's probably there waiting for you. I assume you came straight here?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, but the conference went on for a while after you left. Sasuke still didn't show…. Naruto do you think..."

"He's too much of a smug bastard to let himself be dragged into this crap, believe me." He assured her. "He's probably just doing it to annoy everyone. You know how he likes to pull that kinda shit."

"Yeah…"

Rolling her eyes, Hinata finally broke her peace. "Everything's going to be fine, Sakura-chan."

"Y-you really think so?"

Naruto nearly gagged at her immediate positive reaction to Hinata. Stupid girls and their support systems…

"Of course." She answered, pausing for effect. "Now Naruto and I have to prepare for tomorrow. I'm sure when you get home he'll be there waiting for you."

That brightened her considerably. "Thanks Hinata-chan!"

As she exited the flat Naruto said just loud enough for Hinata to hear: "Well that was quick. Love makes people so stupid..."

She grinned at him. "Yeah I know." Then somberly: "I know…"

"Why so down?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Ok."

He left it at that.

"Well I'm going to turn in early." He began. "I suggest you do the same. We can go over some of this stuff tomorrow when we break."

"Sure thing."

Hinata just stared at him as he walked into his bedroom and shut the door.

'Was I like that? Does love really make people that desperate? Will I ever know?'

* * *

The office looked like a hurricane had blown through it.

Kakashi sighed and scratched the back of his neck. It was at times like this that even his ero-novels couldn't console him.

There was blood everywhere, papers scattered, the desk was broken in half, and numerous objects of priceless value were smashed across the floor. The only thing that was missing from the conglomerate was the body… which had not been found yet. Most likely it was because there was nothing left.

"What kind of technique could do this kind of damage?" The leader of the investigation team asked, not expecting an answer.

"There are only a few shinobi I know that are capable of such destruction." Kakashi said in his usual detached manner.

"Could you give me a couple of names?"

"Well I could have done it, but I have an alibi."

"Names?" The detective insisted.

Kakashi's single visible eye rolled lazily to focus on the man.

"Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Konohamaru Sarutobi. I doubt you'll find any of their profiles to match with a killer."

"Still, that's a pretty short list." The man pointed out.

The successor of the White Fang shrugged. "The rasengan is a pretty tough technique to master. Anyway, that's just one of the possible techniques that could have been used to do this. There's sure to be at least a couple dozen other jutsu that could to this"

The inspector sighed. Nothing was ever easy. "Well that's all for now."

The man bowed and the team followed him out where Kakashi heard them discussing possible theories.

Slowly and quietly he moved to open the secret compartment Shikamaru had installed for the purposes of tobacco and sake.

Both his pipe and flask were missing…

'That's odd.'

He spent the next hour looking around for clues to see if he could dig up any possible explanation for the hit. He was just about to give up when he saw out of the corner of his eye a single item that looked undisturbed.

A chess game was set in the far corner of the office, near a large map of The Continent.

Studying the pieces, Kakashi was intrigued. 'That must have been one hell of a game.' He thought absently.

Knowing that Shikamaru always preferred the dark set, he considered their setup first.

Numerous pawns had already been sacrificed, and the few he had remaining looked to be running diversionary tactics. The king and queen were both in compromising positions. At the same time a knight and a bishop were within striking range of their adversaries. Another bishop stood alone in the far corner of the board where no other pieces were engaged. Its only backup was a rook that seemed to be moving in a pattern to team up with it, but it would take a few moves. The last knight was just behind the king and queen serving no obvious purpose except to cover an escape that was already impossible.

Thinking the way the shadow user had taught him to think he tried to play the fight backward. It looked as if the king and queen had slowly been ringed in by pawns that were eventually picked off by other pawns and maybe a knight. A few high pieces had been taken, but overall they were positioned in such a way that no matter how brilliant Shikamaru's strategy, the king or the queen would die. Kakashi knew that Shikamaru considered the queen the most important piece and the king really just something that needed to be protected. Having the two of them together and in the fray made no sense.

He frowned.

Shikamaru would never play a game like this. It was almost as if…

It hit him like a bolt of lightning. 'Why that sneaky son of a bitch!'

He had tried to leave a message of some sort on the board. Nobody but Kakashi, Sasuke or Neji would have realized it, as they were the only ones that played with him on a weekly basis.

The sharingan wielder blinked twice at the formation and thought hard.

"_If you had to pick a piece, what would it be?" Shikamaru asked suddenly._

"_Probably a knight."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Because," the silver haired genius replied, "I have power but move in an unpredictable manner. I can strike or retreat quickly. I also have enough value to not be sacrificed meaninglessly." _

"_Hmmm."_

"_And you?"_

_Shikamaru smiled and put his hands behind his head. "A rook."_

"_Eh?" Kakashi questioned._

"_I prefer to stay back and sit still. Occasionally I'll move in one direction or another when an opportunity arises, but for the most part I can just relax…"_

Kakashi recalled the conversation perfectly and put it to use.

'So if he's the rook in the corner… does that mean he's out of action, or just biding his time?'

He had no idea what the bishop could be, but he was smart enough to guess that it was either an outside helper or another ally who had escaped. The knight behind the king and queen was obviously him. Beyond that he had little idea except that they were both in grave danger.

'So the king must be the guy he wants to become Hokage eventually.'

Although Shikamaru had included him in his plan, Kakashi only had a vague idea of what was going on. The shadow user had always insisted that the less he knew the safer he'd be, and the higher the chance of success.

'And the queen… I have no idea.'

Still, it was obvious that they needed help from him, whoever they were. But how to get them out of that dilemma…?

"_There is always one final tactic you can use in a losing game."_

"_What's that?"_

_Shikamaru smiled. "Cheat."_

At that moment a carrier pigeon flew in the window and dropped a scroll into his hand. Inside were two sentences and a symbolic item of particular interest.

_Get them out. Trust Kurenai._

"Looks like I'll have to arrange a little vacation for them when they return from the Capital..."

* * *

It was still dark when Hinata awoke.

Something had stirred her, for she never got up in the middle of the night unless something was amiss.

After several seconds of debate she decided to look over and see what time it was.

"Only twelve-thirty?" She thought out loud.

Concluding that this was definitely weird, she slipped out of bed and crept out into the living room. There was no one there, as she had expected.

'Maybe Naruto's still awake?'

She stood by his door and pressed her ear to it, listening for any activity. When she didn't anything she realized that she was being stupid and took a step back, activating her Byakugan. Through a land of black and white she viewed the room beyond the door just in time to see Naruto getting dressed in his ANBU gear.

'Now _that's_ interesting.'

Mindful not to make any noise she returned to her room and began gearing up herself. He hadn't gotten her, so he was clearly intending a solo run, whatever it was. Her curiosity was too much to handle- she had to know what he was up to.

Something in the back of her mind screamed that this was a mistake. Words blurred in her head as she tried to recall if there was something she had forgotten. A lot of her time with Naruto before she had been incapacitated had blurred into a string of tangible events and fuzzy feelings. For the life of her she couldn't understand what it was she was trying to remember.

As the last piece of gear slid over her statuesque face she dismissed the fleeting feeling of warning. She reactivated her Byakugan just in time to see her partner exiting through the window and smirked. Try and hide something from her would he?

She followed him into the night.

* * *


	24. The Boy and The Girl

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

He needed her to know.

It was for this very reason that Naruto had spiked his chakra levels earlier that night. He knew that if he did this Hinata's sensitivity training would rouse her. Being a naturally curious person, she would check to see what was going on. After she discovered his covert actions it was highly likely that she would follow him.

And so she had. In a way it was unfair.

He was a coward. He had tried on numerous occasions to gather the courage to tell her, but every time he seemed to choke just before he broached the topic. This way he wouldn't have to tell her. Instead he would show her and she could make her own judgment. He hoped beyond hope that she would still accept him, still acknowledge him as the partner she knew and trusted. It was a difficult thing to ask of her, but with all of the chaos going on he knew that a single unstable variable could spell disaster. If she found out at the wrong place at the wrong time the effect on their partnership could be catastrophic.

So he would risk everything tonight, his secret, his soul and his true self. At least this way he would have a chance to explain it to her. At least this way he could make sure she wasn't hurt by his deception. Just the thought of him causing her pain made him cringe. He had never wanted to hurt her, not after he realized what had almost happened. It was as Kakashi had said…

"_A man doesn't know what he has until he loses it."_

There was a startling truth in that statement. She had been so close, so close to death. Had she not recovered… he didn't want to think about what he would have done had she not recovered. The day she opened her eyes again to him had been a wonder, a god send, a miracle of biblical proportions in his eyes.

It was strange that in the moment itself he did not realize this. It was not until after they had finally reunited as partners that he understood precisely how lucky he was. The way she had pushed her way into his life and changed him… the way she looked at him when she smiled…

It was distracting, but for the first time, on this very night, he had realized something else.

No matter how much he denied it, no matter how hard he tried to suppress his feelings, he could not push her away anymore.

He needed her.

Without her he would come undone. Without her he would not have the strength to stay in control. Without her he would descend into the madness that had nearly claimed him during her coma. Perhaps if he had acted earlier he might have circumvented the entire situation. Perhaps he could have continued on as he was before they became partners, before she had ensnared him in those eyes of hers.

She was like a drug. The more he was around her the more he needed her to _be_ around him. It was a never ending cycle of desperation that was making him dependent, and for the life of him he could not stop it. Deep down, he didn't want to stop it. The addiction was too sweet, her allure too great for him to overcome.

But none of these things were new to him. He had known he needed her since their first mission to Wave. He knew that he wouldn't, couldn't take anyone else to be his partner. She was his other half behind the mask and he suspected she felt the same way. These things he had already accepted.

No, what he had discovered was not only could he not push her away…

'I don't want to… I want… I want Hinata…'

And so he needed her to know.

He was a demon.

As he cleared the final building that marked the outskirts of the city proper he risked a glance back to see if she was following him. He was not surprised when there was no trace of her. Then again, if there was even a hint of her presence, she would have been a poor shinobi unsuitable to be his partner. He smiled, she had grown so much since he first met her… the real her. Did she realize how strong she had become? How much stronger she made him?

'Are you strong enough to accept me for who I am, Hina-chan?'

One way or another, he was going to find out.

* * *

Hinata finally came to a halt just outside of a small clearing in the woods surrounding Konoha. The place was eerie at this time of night. Moonlight cascaded through the trees and reflected off of the dark green leaves of the tall trees while crickets chirped lonely rhythms of an ambiguous meter; a most curious setting.

Even from her hiding place two hundred yards away she could see every detail with perfect clarity. In a landscape of black and white she saw him kneel down in front of a small shrine. It looked to be a fairly recent thing, for it was made of carved wood and not stone. Writing in kanji decorated the front of the piece. On top was a holder for incense and a small picture that he had just removed from his pocket. Naruto bowed deeply and clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Iruka-sensei." She read his lips. "I'm sorry I still haven't figured it out…"

He took a deep breath, stood and bowed once more. He turned himself to face her position and sat in the lotus pose. He closed his eyes and folded his hands together in a posture of serenity. It was clear that he was practicing some sort of deep meditation. After what might have been two or three minutes he began to change… or more accurately his chakra began to change. Even from a distance she could feel the air begin to hum. She deactivated her Byakugan; too bright.

At first it was the prominent light-blue of a shinobi who contained incredible spiritual power. A second color slowly began to crept into his aura, starting from his abdomen and flowing into the rest of his body. Eventually there was only a thin outline of blue bordering the stronger red chakra, which for some reason felt... _sinister_. She saw him wrestle for control with the strange power, struggling to contain it within the narrow band of blue. Her eyes widened at the implications.

Was he possessed?

Then a third aura came into being, a combination of green and gold hues.

'His sage aura.' The young kunoichi observed.

A third layer formed around the outside of his natural blue chakra, his power now easily visible to the naked eye. Slowly, so slow that at first she couldn't tell if she was imagining it, the golden green began to penetrate the past the blue into the red. Small fissures of light stretched out and widened until after several more minutes the red had turned to a golden orange with the blue still holding it in place. The transformation resulted in an exponential increase in spiritual pressure.

With her eyes wide open the sheer power that radiated from him was enough to make her flinch.

His eyes were changed. A peculiar cross shape grew out from his pupils, which were now slits, similar to a cat. Even at a distance Hinata knew his eyes were the same color as his aura. There was so much depth behind them. They glowed a with power and wisdom she had never been aware he possessed.

'This… this is his true power… but what is he?'

He stood, breaking her trance and making her hairs stand on end. The air crackled with tension and in a sudden surge of power his aura stretched out in all directions. The golden-red color moved at a rate she could not possibly hope to outrun. She braced herself and less than a second later it hit.

A feeling of exhilaration greater than Hinata had never experienced overwhelmed her senses. Her blood boiled in her veins. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her Byakugan was forced on again from the burst of power that flooded the area. Sudden pain exploded in her head. Her eyes burned in agony and her mouth opened is a silent scream as she fell to the ground in a heap. Her breaths came in sharp gasps and perspiration streamed down her face. One by one she felt each section of her body go numb until she was unable to coordinate herself. Terror unlike any she had ever known filled her as her grasp on reality spiraled out of control.

For one glorious moment the world was as bright as starfire.

* * *

_I can't feel my body. Where am I? Everything is white. Am I dead? Emptiness. So much emptiness. I'm frightened. Mother help me. I'm so lost. Who am I? What was my life like? I'm… fading… fading into the void. My soul is splintering... pain... make it stop! Make it stop! Please just let it end! Let the world end... let me end..  
_

**Not yet. **

_That voice... who are you?_

**The question is who are you?**

_That's what I want to know..._

**Can you accept it?**

_Accept what?_

**Who you are.**

_I don't know who I am, so how can I?  
_

**I can accept it. Can you?**

_Who are you?_

**My name is Hinata.**

_Hinata…_

**Yes.**

_Hyuuga… Hinata…_

**Do you remember?**

_I… I… can't…_

**You can't or you wont?  
**

_I'm not sure. Why am I here? What is this place?  
_

**There is no "here." There is only "us."  
**

_But __why?_

**You must be made to understand.  
**

_Understand what?_

**That which you desire.**

_What I desire?_

**Yes, that which you need. **

_What I need or what I desire?_

**Both.**

_To what end?  
_

**No, not end. Beginning.  
**

_This is the beginning?_

**_Yes. _**

_Of what?  
_

**Your purpose.**

_Am I dead?_

**In a way... in a way you died a long time ago.  
**

_Then why am I here?_

**Because you cannot leave yet.**

_When can I leave?_

**The question is not when you can leave, but when I can leave.  
**

_I want to know who I am._

**We are Hinata.**

_We?_

**Yes.**

_How are we the same?_

**How are we different?**

…_what… do we desire…?_

**Power.**

…_power…? _

**Yes.**

_Are we sure?_

**No. I am sure.  
**

_Can I remember who I am?_

**Yes. If you can accept it.  
**

_...Who is Naruto?_

**Your need, my desire.**

_So I want something different?_

**No.**

_How can two different things be the same?_

**We want the same thing.**

_Naruto?_

**Yes.**

_But I thought you wanted power?_

**No, I need power.**

_How is that any different?_

**Without his power, there is no hope.  
**

_Naruto will give you power?_

**No. I will give us power.**

_Then why is he my need and your desire?_

**He is our reason.**

_Reason?_

**You need Naruto. I need power. **

…_and?_

**Having Naruto will give me power. Having power will give you Naruto.**

_So I need power?_

**No, you need Naruto.**

_But they are the same?_

**Ultimately.**

_And we are the same._

**...we are two halves not yet whole…**

_Two halves?_

**You are light.**

_I am light?_

**Yes.**

_And what are you?  
_

**I am darkness.**

…_are we dead?_

**No.**

_But you said I was dead._

**Yes.**

_Then you are alive?_

**Yes.**

_Why am I dead?_

**You let yourself die when you gave your soul over to me.  
**

_So if I died, how am I still here?  
_

_**He **_**brought you back.**_  
_

_Naruto did?  
_

**Yes.**

_Why did I let myself die?_

**Because of _him_.**

_Because of Naruto?_

**Yes. You died the moment you knew Pain... you sacrificed all and in return, got nothing.**

_Nothing?_

**Nothing from Naruto.  
**

_Why would he do that?_

**It was not his choice. If it had been, you would have never come back.  
**

_He didn't choose to do this?  
_

**Some part of us knew, and so a small part of you survived within me.  
**

_How?_

**I protected you. Protected us.  
**

_From what?_

**Ourselves.**

_Then why am I dead?_

**You died when you killed yourself. Do you remember? **

_No…_

**You died when you gave up.**

_When I gave up?_

**You abandoned the reason.**

_Naruto?_

**Yes.**

_Why… why am I here?_

**Because you must return to us.**

_I can't, I'm dead._

**But _I_ am alive.**

_So…I'm dead, but you're alive. So we're both alive through you…_

**Do you understand?**

_No._

**Do you want to?**

_Yes._

**Then you must understand him.**

_Naruto?_

**Yes.**

_So I am alive?_

**If you do not come back you will die. If you do not come back Naruto will die. If Naruto dies, I will die, and then we will both truly be dead.  
**

_Why?_

**If you run he will die. When he dies you will kill us.**

_I will?_

**Yes.**

_Why?_

**Because there is no way you could live without him.  
**

_We love him don't we?  
_

**No. _I_ do not love him. I only need his power.  
**

_So... we don't love him?  
_

**No, _you_ love him.**

_I love him..._

**More than you love us.  
**

_Then why did I abandon him?  
_

**You had no choice. You were not ready.**

_Am I ready now?_

**Yes, but _we_ are not ready.**

_I thought you said you didn't love him?_

**No, I _can't _love him.**

_So how can **we** love him if you can't?_

**We are two halves of one soul. When we are one, then I will love him too.  
**

_How do we become one?_

**We must both get what we need.  
**

_I must get Naruto._

**Yes.**

_And you must get power._

**Yes.**

_But I thought you said they were the same?_

**They are. **

_I still don't understand._

**You must become strong enough.  
**

_Strong enough?_

**Strong enough to love Naruto.**

_How do I become strong enough? __What must I do?_

**Save him. Protect us.**

_Which one?_

**They are the same.**

_How?_

… **I cannot give him what he needs…**

…_why?_

**I am not the girl.**

_Girl?_

**You are.**

_I am?_

**Yes.**

_I don't understand._

**You must save the boy.**

_The boy?_

**Naruto.**

_I know Naruto is a boy... you keep saying "him."  
_

**You must save _his_ boy.**

_I am light and I am the girl. _

**Yes.**

_So the girl is the light?_

**Yes.**_  
_

_ So... the boy is his light and I have to save it?_

**Yes.**_  
_

_From what?_

**Darkness.**

_From you?_

**No. _His_ darkness.**

_Why does he need me? He has light too, right?._

**Unlike you, his light cannot overcome his darkness.**

_I must overcome you?_

**Yes, only then will you be strong enough.**

_To do what?_

**Love him. Save his light.**

_I can save his light. How?  
_

**You must be his light.**

_I must?  
_

**Your light will rekindle his light. In return, his darkness will give me power.**

_And your power will give me him?_

**He will give himself to us when you have my power.**

_When I am his light?_

**Yes.  
**

_But how can I have your power?_

**When we are one.**

_How can I be his light when I am dead?  
_

**He brought you back. For a brief moment his light called out to you through the darkness.  
**

_So he has rekindled me, and in return I must rekindle him? _

**You are beginning to understand.****Two halves must be whole.**

_Yes, I will be one with you._

**Yes, but when we are one, we will still only be half of the whole.  
**

_I still don't understand, I thought our halves being one will make us whole?  
_

**No, only _he _can make us whole**

_Naruto completes us?_

**Yes. Just as we complete him.  
**

_How?_

**Without the contrast of light, there can be no darkness. Without darkness, there is nothing for light to illuminate.**

_His light is dying isn't it?  
_

**It is a spark. If you run again, it will go out forever.**

_Why me?_

**You are light. You are the girl.**

_But I don't know what to do!_

**Yes you do.**

…_how will I know?_

**You are the spark to the tinder that will rekindle his light. _You_ must accept him, both light and dark. **

_Why wouldn't I?  
_

**You are still very weak, and his darkness is very, _very_ strong. **

_Will I be enough?_

**That... is something I do not know.  
**

_Then how...  
_

**Just as his light overcame his darkness for an instant to call you, you must overcome me to call him.  
**

_Just for an instant? To call his light?  
_

**No, an instant will not be enough. His light is too weak, his darkness too strong.**

_How long will it take?_

**I do not know, but you _must _prevail.**

_How… how will it happen?_

**You will be tested.**

_Will you help me?_

**I am not strong enough. I cannot help you.**

_What must I do?_

**Are you strong enough to accept him for who he is? Are you strong enough to accept us for who we are?**

_I don't know…_

**Are you frightened?**

…_yes…_

**You must overcome it.**

_But what if I fail?_

**You cannot fail.**

_Why? Why must I do this? Why me?_

**You love him.**

_I... I know..._

**So what will you do, Hinata?**

_Stop it! Stop asking me questions I don't have answers for! Just leave me alone! Leave... leave me alone..._

**Are you just going to keep running away?**

_...just keep... running away…? _

**Well?  
**

_Not this time._

**So that means?**

_I...I love him...  
_

**You don't sound very convincing.****  
**

_I love him.  
_

**Say it again.  
**

_I love him!  
_

**Again!**

_I LOVE NARUTO!_**  
**

**And?!**_  
_

_I'M NOT RUNNING!  
_

* * *

Naruto's eyes shot open. His deep concentration had been interrupted by the ferocity of his partner's explosive aura. When he had first stretched out with his power and made contact with her she had been overwhelmed. After only a few seconds her aura had changed drastically and wrapped her in a cocoon of white chakra.

'Holy shit!'

He watched her as she walked towards him through the woods. Her step was steady and her pride and confidence were evident from both the look in her eyes beneath her mask and the slight tilt of her chin. At last she entered the small clearing and paused. Forces of golden-red and lavender-white swirled and eddied around her, creating a maelstrom aura that would have torn her apart had she been a lesser being. Of course such a level of power was to be expected of the one who he had deemed worthy to be his partner... the thought calmed Naruto, if only a little.

"I see you have changed." He observed just loud enough for her to hear.

"Dark Fox." She acknowledged with a slight tilt of her head.

He smiled slightly. "No, I'm afraid not. Tonight I'm only Naruto."

"You aren't surprised to see me here?" She asked, ignoring his previous statement.

"I needed to speak with you. This place seemed appropriate."

"I see."

His eyes studied her body. The curve of her hips, the noble angles of her face hidden beneath her mask, the swell of her breasts, everything bespoke her perfection. Gradually, gently, he receded his power back into himself. He attempted a smile again, this time managing a reasonable facsimile, and motioned for her to come sit opposite of him. Two rocks had been conveniently placed approximately five feet away from each other.

"Please sit." He said politely.

Hinata sat casually with her hands resting on her knees. Naruto sat with his back straight, legs crossed Indian-style.

"I have known you had a hidden power for some time now." She began slowly. "I don't know where you get it from, but I have my suspicions."

"You are right... would you mind removing your mask?"

The young heiress obliged him. Her eyes were a mix of emotions; fear, excitement, distrust, curiosity, and worry were all evident in the glow of her silvered irises.

"Allow me to tell you a story."

Hinata quirked one eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Once there was a man. This man was a hero of his people. When war came he stained his hands with the blood of his peoples' enemies for the sake of preserving their innocence. His efforts turned the tide of the war in his county's favor. When it ended, the previous leader of this people handed his power down to the great man." Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "For several years there was peace. During that time the man took a wife and together they conceived a child. For a brief time, their world was filled with happiness and joy."

The Kyuubi container shifted a little in his discomfort. When he spoke again it was with practiced restraint, veiling the raw emotions he was feeling.

"But it was not meant to be. On the day of the child's birth a great demon attacked their village. The stress of the attack was too much for a mother in childbirth and she died, but the child was saved. The guardians of the village did everything they could to stop it, but no human could repel the power of demigod. That great man, the leader of the village, knew this. In an act of ultimate sacrifice he used a forbidden technique to save the village. However... there was no technique that could possibly destroy such a demon. So the man did the only thing he could do. Instead of destroying the demon... he sealed it... into the vessel of his newborn son."

Hinata blinked, her white pupils becoming pinpoints of concentration. The look of confusion on her face pained Naruto, but he pressed on.

"These events transpired on October the tenth, nineteen years ago."

The Hyuuga could only stare at him in utter disbelief. "Naruto-kun..." She trailed off.

"The baby soon grew into a boy. He was raised by the previous leader of the village until he was old enough to live on his own. That was at age five. Those who had been children and adults at the time of the attack resented the boy. His father had wanted him to be seen as a hero, the savior of the village. Instead they feared what he harbored inside of him. In time the boy became used to this. The constant attacks on his person, the hateful glares of the villagers, the shop keepers who refused service or overcharged him... Over time the effects of his treatment nearly drove him to the point of madness. It was only through the efforts of the village leader and the kindness of a select few that the boy managed not to turn into what the villagers feared most."

Naruto's eyes had taken on a far off look, glazed over with memories.

"He did anything he could to get attention, any kind of attention. He would pull pranks and steal little bits of food from kitchens and roadside stands. Despite everything that was done to him he managed to keep a smile on his face. He had potential as a shinobi and when he was old enough he enrolled in the academy. He thought that he could earn respect by becoming strong. By becoming the strongest shinobi in the village and protecting those who hated him he would finally overcome the incredible prejudice he faced. He wouldn't have to be alone anymore..."

"Naru..." Hinata tried to speak, but the tears streaming down her cheeks and the rawness of her throat prevented her from letting out little more than a choked sob. He had lied to her! He had betrayed her! He had played with her emotions! He never needed her; he just had strung her along for his amusement. How could anyone with such power need a partner? How could she possibly ever hope to measure up to him? She would never be his equal... he would never belong to her.

She cried harder.

"He was wrong. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how strong he got, nothing changed. Years passed and this awareness drew him away from the boy he had once been. Hardship after hardship slowly ate away at whatever dreams he once had. Eventually, with his dreams gone, he became the man he is today."

His eyes said everything he couldn't. "That man is me, Hinata-san."

"I... I..." She stuttered, her words strangled and distorted.

Naruto reached out a hand to comfort her. She recoiled like she had been bitten by a venomous snake.

"S-stay away from me."

Hinata tried to stand and back up, but tripped over the stone she had been sitting on. Naruto caught her and for one intense moment she was sure he was going to kiss her. With pain evident in every ounce of his being he released her. She stood frozen to the spot, unable to look away from him. He reached forward once again and caressed her cheek.

"I'm the same Naruto you've always known... _Hinata_." He said gently, his eyes glowing softly in the moonlight.

The absence of a honorific was not lost on her. "N-no you're not. The Naruto-kun I kn-know would n-never address me in such a way."

"Then you obviously don't know me well enough."

His hand moved to trace the line of her jaw. He leaned forward and titled her chin up to him. The amount of fear in her eyes almost stopped him, but the smell of her fresh tears was too strong in his mind for him to resist. Her soul was crying out to him... it needed to know. He would make her understand exactly why he had trusted her with his secret... He would let her know... he needed her. More than he could ever tell her. So he would show her. His lips brushed against hers...

At the last moment Hinata turned her face to the side and looked down.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I... I just can't do this."

"Why?"

"Why do you think, idiot!" She yelled, her face red with anger and despair. "What do you think people will say?!"

"Nothing they haven't already said." He replied with as much composure as he could muster.

Hinata was in shock. She had prepared herself for anything but this... how was this supposed to be ok? When she had awoken from her feinting spell she had been overcome with an urgent need to talk to him. She had felt so sure of herself then, so confident that no matter what he threw at her she would be able to support him. It was as if some inner force was pushing her to accept him. How could she? There was no way she could ever match him now that she knew what he was...

An image appeared in her head. Waking up from her suicidal match against Pain. The land had been completely decimated. Somehow Naruto had been able to win...

She didn't want to attack him. She was just so hurt... it was either that or break down.

"You beat Pain using the Kyuubi's power didn't you?" She accused.

"I thought he had killed you. I was so angry... I lost control." He admitted slowly.

"You could have killed everyone in the village! What if that happens again and you're not so lucky?"

"I've been in control for a long time."

Hinata exploded.

"SO WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY NARUTO-KUN? THAT IT'S ALRIGHT? THAT I'M OKAY WITH HAVING A WALKING TIME BOMB TICKING NEXT TO ME?! WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN IF I GOT HURT AGAIN, HUH? DID YOU EVER EVEN STOP TO CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES?! IF IT HAPPENED ONCE IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN! ONLY THIS TIME, WHO KNOWS WHAT THE DAMAGE WILL BE?! IT WAS A MIRACLE YOU DIDN'T FINISH WHAT PAIN STARTED!"

"Hinata, calm down." Naruto said softly.

"I AM FUCKING CALM!"

"Don't you get it? You almost died in my arms. The Kyuubi has merged with me, there's no way for it to break free." He explained with rising intensity.

Her heart felt like it was being split in twain. "Even if that's true... even if I can accept you... I'll never be strong enough. How could I possibly be your equal?"

"I don't care!" Naruto shouted, startling her. "You're my partner and you're not going anywhere! Stop being so selfish!" He demanded.

"Selfish? Selfish?!" She cried in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for you? How much I bled to get here, only to find out that I never belonged in the first place? Do you even care that I spent five years pushing myself to become stronger?! That my every waking moment was spent catching up to you?!"  
The Hyuuga heiress paled at what she had just said. She couldn't deny the ring of truth in her words. Had she really been trying to get back to him this whole time?

"Hinata its okay..."

'My god... it's true... this whole time... THIS WHOLE TIME!' Hinata snapped.

"IT'S NOT FUCKING OK! GOD DAMNIT NARUTO! I THREW MYSELF IN FRONT OF A SHINOBI CAPABLE OF LEVELING KONOHA! I NEARLY KILLED MYSELF BECAUSE I WAS FUCKING IN LOVE WITH YOU! AND THEN WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU DO?" She screamed with unadulterated rage. "YOU GO THROW YOURSELF AT SAKURA! WHAT THE FUCK?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN CHECK TO SEE IF I WAS OKAY! AND YOU WANT KNOW THE WORST PART?" Her voice rose to an earsplitting scream as she laughed like a madwomen at herself. "ALL I COULD THINK OF WAS HOW GLAD I WAS THAT YOU WERE OK! SO DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO TELL ME THAT EVERYTHING IS OKAY! THAT EVERYTHING I WORKED FOR WASN'T FOR NOTHING! YOU'VE DESTROYED MY FUCKING LIFE TWICE NOW! YOU... YOU BASTARD!"

"You... were in love with me?" Naruto was so astonished that his words came out in a hesitant whisper.

His astonished disbelief only made her angrier. "YES YOU IDIOT! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD TAKE ON SOMEONE WHO COULD KILL THEM ON A WHIM!"

"Why... why did you keep this from me for so long?" He asked quietly.

Hinata fumed. She was so angry... she couldn't remember ever being so angry before in her life. All of the feelings she had suppressed in her early teens were boiling over into a blood rage. He was going to leave her after all they had been through! And now he had the gall to ask _her_ why she had kept that secret? How fucked was that? She should kill him where he stood... but then what kind of threat could she possibly pose to the container of the nine-tailed fox.

Her voice came out tremulous, low, and deadly.

"I could ask you the same thing! You want to know why I didn't tell you? Because when Pain didn't kill me you almost did! What the hell was I supposed to do?! You were goddamned clueless! I gave up on you the minute you came back from the Kage summit! All you could think about was Sasuke and how you had failed him! Did you ever spare me a single thought? No! Of course not! So I did the only thing I could do: I threw myself into training until I couldn't think straight anymore! I shed blood and sweat to forget you! And then what happened?! I get stuck as your fucking partner! I couldn't believe the irony of it! The one person I had worked so hard to forget was my ANBU partner! I'm glad Shikamaru's dead right now, because I swear if he wasn't, I would kill him for what he put me through!"

She laughed bitterly and continued, more malicious than before.

"But no, I thought I was stronger than that! That I was a different person! That somehow it would be different this time! I thought it was okay, that it would be fine! But you just couldn't leave me alone could you? You had to come back to finish the job! First you treated me like a queen in Wave, then you dumped me and left me to the mercy of the council! Then when _you _couldn't handle the guilt, when you realized you needed me, you begged for me to come back! You kept up the ruse of being my partner for a few months! Then you string me along with this idea that I'm your equal, I nearly die in a fight I refused to lose because of the pride you instilled in me, then you leave me to rot in a coma and the first thing you do is tell me you're going to make me invincible! _Invincible_?! What a _fucking joke_! You _don't_ need me, you _never have_ needed me, and you're _never_ going to need me again!" Her voice deteriorated to a fragile tone fraught with bitter sadness and interrupted by gasps for air that didn't seem to do anything but fill her chest with pain. "And even if I stayed what would I be? Your tool? Don't give me that partner crap! Partner means a relationship as equals! You can't even begin to tell me that my level is even on the same planet as you!"

By the end of her rant Naruto was practically glowing with fury. How dare she just assume that he had played with her?! How could she possibly think that everything they'd ever shared had been a lie?! Just because he was a demon that meant he could only deceive and hurt others, was that it?! It made him so furious he thought he was going to explode! Did she have any idea how much she meant to him?! How much he had suffered to help her improve?! How every time he saw her face he was reminded of every time he had ever failed her?! It hurt more than anything anyone had ever said to him! She was going to abandon him just like everyone one else! And all for some bullshit idea that she wasn't his equal?! Not on the same planet?! Had she forgotten what she had done to Killer Bee?! Was all of that power something she disregarded because of some half-baked idea that she wasn't worthy of him, or worse, him of her?! Was all of the improvement she had made because of him just some piecemeal to her?! Fine! If she thought she was so goddamned weak he would force her to see the truth!

'Will you let those words kill you, Hinata? Or will you realize your own strength?'

"Oh no?" He said far too calmly.

In a sudden burst of power his aura wrapped around her. It burned through every vein in her body. It was the same pain that had caused her to collapse the last time. Naruto reached forward and grabbed her by the throat. His other hand cocked back with an open palm and began to glow burning red.

"So this is about _power_ is it? Is that you _want_?" He hissed.

"Nnnn...uuu...to...st...op..."

"I'LL FUCKING GIVE YOU POWER!" He roared.

His hand struck her with such staggering force she was sure her chest had been crushed. She was blown back into a tree at the edge of the clearing. The breath was knocked clear out of her and the world spun around her in dizzying circles. Somehow she found the strength to get to her feet.

"Defend yourself!" Naruto shouted, charging her with a giant green Rasengan in his right hand.

* * *

Hinata watched Naruto close in on her with a look that promised death. Despite how bad she felt, despite not caring if she died, her body's instincts had other ideas.

'Gonna die... gonna die... can't... he's going to kill me... no... I can't die... I can't...' Fragmented thoughts echoed in her mind as panic began to flood through her.

Panic gave way to terror until all she could think of was stopping him. He was really going to do it! No, she couldn't die here, not yet! She felt something surge inside of her. White fire bloomed in her breast and spread to every region of her body. It was the power again, the force that filled her when she was pushed to the brink.

Just before the moment of impact a brilliant light surrounded her and Naruto was forced to stop his charge. 'It's that technique again,' he thought.

The power was incredible. It filled every part of Hinata with burning strength. She could do anything like this...with this power. She glared at her partner with eyes that glowed bright white-blue. She would teach him to try and attack her, the bastard! He would see just how pathetic Rasengan was against her Shining Palm!

Naruto snarled and charged once more. Hinata stood her ground calmly and allowed a concentration of chakra to build up in her right hand. Naruto met her head on. The giant sage-chakra infused Rasengan was stopped dead in its tracks by the white glow of chakra spinning around her palm.

Hinata repelled it with one hand. The heat of Naruto's Rasengan burned her and she grunted with effort just to stand her ground. With flawless technique she was able to turn the giant orb of death to the side where it went shooting past her and into the trees, causing a massive explosion. She was left clutching at her heaving breast and gasping for air. Sweat beaded at the top of her brow and her face flushed red from exertion. Her knees quaked beneath her and her legs felt like jelly. That technique drained her so quickly…

Her partner was unscathed, standing in silence just beyond the small crater that had been created at the point where their two jutsu had connected. His face was unreadable and he walked towards her slowly with unreadable intent. There was little doubt in Hinata's mind what was about to happen next.

It was over. There was no way she could repel a second attack. Not without risking draining herself so low that she would probably go unconscious. If only she had worn those special plates he had bought her… maybe she would have stood a chance. She was just too weak, she could never hold her own against Uzumaki Naruto.

She looked up into his eyes and accepted her fate, but something was off. Was… was that arrogant son of a bitch smiling? He thought it was fucking funny?!

"Not_ strong_ enough huh?" Naruto asked rhetorically, wearing the expression of the cat that had eaten the canary.

Hinata gaped at the blonde young man.

"You... tricked me?" She whispered in utter bewilderment.

"I told you, you were strong, stupid." He pulled back his killing intent as if it had never existed in the first place. Only his mirthful countenance remained.

Suddenly she felt drained and tired. Not just physically, but emotionally. Hinata slumped to knees and began to cry once more... in exhaustion, in confusion, in resentment, in bitterness, in regret, in sorrow… in relief? How could she feel this way when she had so clearly lost?

"You stopped one of my strongest attacks with one hand Hinata. Not even Sasuke can do that."

Her head snapped up. His declaration of the obvious hit her like a punch to the gut.

"I did..." She said, eyes wide with astonishment and sudden realization.

Naruto walked over to where she had collapsed and tenderly picked her up into his arms. Hinata rested head against his shoulder and wept. He wasn't letting her go… he… he had been telling the truth all along. Despite all the terrible things she had said to him, he had never given up on her.

"I'm… s-sorry…" She got out between her gasps and bitter tears.

"Shhhh…" Naruto rocked her in his arms and held her close, assuring her that he wasn't going anywhere. That she meant everything to him. "It's okay. Everything's going to be alright. I'm here for you Hinata." She felt so safe in his arms... and it just felt so _right_. This was where she belonged.

"I..." She stumbled over her words and started over again. "I'm sorry for getting so angry but... the thought of being without you it made me so mad I..." Her garbled speech deteriorated into uncontrollable wracking sobs. Her arms wrapped around his back, desperate for the comfort she needed. "Oh gods, Naruto I-"

"You talk too much." He observed mildly and crushed his lips to hers.

Hinata gasped at the sudden contact and Naruto immediately exploited the moment to invade her mouth with his tongue. Her eyes widened in alarm and she pushed back against his chest instinctively, futilely attempting to resist him. After several seconds she began to get distracted by the things his kiss was doing to her. The sensation of his firm lips pressed against hers, his tongue caressing hers, the heat of his body, the smell of his hair... it was all so overwhelming... and so...so..

Her eyelids fluttered and then closed. She moaned and leaned into him. Her hands went to wrap around his neck and clutch at his hair. Naruto's arms pulled his partner tighter against him and she reveled in his heat. It felt so good, who knew that it could feel so good? The sweet torture showed her glimpses of a future that had yet to come, of things she had always secretly desired. Finally, finally she was able to admit she wanted him. Oh how she wanted him!

The pain that had ravaged her chest slowly dissipated with each second that passed in his embrace. The bitter and hopeless tears that stained her cheeks no longer served to lessen her sorrow and instead began to act as an aphrodisiac, especially for Naruto. Sadness... despair, nearness to death, they all spiked the need to procreate. In times of destruction, creation was needed to keep the balance. It was for these reasons that the smell of her fresh tears, the sadness of her aura made Naruto nearly mad with want for her. Hinata melted under the unbridled intensity of his desire until she herself had succumbed entirely to base instinct. There was something so feral about it, something so wildly erotic about the way her body molded to his. Well, if the gods wanted procreation then this was the way to do it. It was intoxicating, consuming, and utterly maddening. She was insatiable. She could kiss him until the world ended and wouldn't mind armageddon if she had him.

They kissed repeatedly, each one becoming more passionate, more desperate. The affection they had both been denied in their childhoods overflowed and burst the dams surrounding the reservoirs of their souls. How could so many wrongs be righted in a single action? How could this timeless experience, something trivial when viewed by an outsider, be so overwhelming and all consuming? How could salvation and damnation be found in just one kiss? How could anything be this perfect?

She ran her tongue over his teeth, the ridges of his hard and soft palettes, the inside of his cheeks, anywhere and everywhere she could reach, she explored. Hinata felt like she had a rising fever. Her head spun and the world beyond her male counterpart's lips faded into the ethers. The ache in her chest, the fire that burned through her veins, the pulse of pleasure in her mouth, became so intense that felt like she was floating in the sky with only the feelings in her body grounding her.

Naruto was doing his best not to let the incredible lust he had for her take control of him. It was all he could do not to rip her clothes off and take was just...

'So… damn… _hot_…'

They were drifting in void-space; the rest of the world was but a memory to them.

After several more minutes of passionate kisses the two finally parted for air.

"Wow." Hinata said breathlessly.

"You got that right." Naruto agreed, panting heavily.

Hinata strode passed him, her hips swaying hypnotically, and sat back down on one of the rocks where she made a 'come hither' gesture.

Naruto joined her, offering a cheesy smile.

"Just _Naruto_, eh?" She commented, his smile reminding her of a certain obnoxious boy she had once been acquainted with.

"Well, I told you how spiteful I became. Do you see me acting like this every day? This is the part of me that I only let out when I'm alone. Could you imagine what would happen if I had to make a kill in this state? There's no way I could do it. There's a reason I have to hide this part of myself, Hinata."

"I don't think I could either right now… I just feel too… I don't even know the word."

"Affectionate?" The blonde suggested.

"Ick, no!" She replied defensively. "Well, maybe just a little."

"Keh."

"So the man that's my ANBU partner is really-"

"Dark Fox." Naruto confirmed. "He's a big part of me. I guess you could say he's kind of like an alter-ego. Who I am now is what I protect with Dark Fox."

"And Night Orchid is the same to me." The Hyuuga heiress agreed, knowing precisely what he meant. She had done the same thing after she had given up on him nearly four years ago. "How I am right now… I feel like a girl again." She let out a long wistful sigh. "I remember how innocent the world was back then. The dark truths of reality were just phantoms that lurked under the bed. It wasn't until you nearly died bringing Sasuke back that I began to understand how cruel life can be."

"I think I lost myself to the real world long before that. I was just so hell bent on keeping up my upbeat attitude that I lost sight of how much I really knew. I was blinded by my attempts to make others happy and to prove myself to the village. I don't think I'll ever recover this innocence you're talking about."

Clearly her partner had a different perspective of the world. She chose to enlighten him.

"No, that can't be true. Every person still contains at least some shred of innocence. Without it we would be unable to cope with the world we live in- especially one like ours. Knowing that at any moment you could be murdered in your sleep just because of some stupid power play doesn't mean you _believe_ it will happen."

"There's a difference between ignorance and innocence."

"Is there?" Hinata questioned. "Can one still be innocent when blood has stained their skin? I think we both know the answer to that question."

Naruto smiled in empathy. "I gave up trying to justify my actions a long time ago. Using logic to prove that I was still human and not just a mindless killing machine didn't help. It was how I felt that mattered. For that reason Dark Fox became more than just a codename." He gave her a knowing look with deep seated sorrow beneath it. "Don't try and tell me Night Orchid was created for a reason other than what I created Dark Fox for."

"Well, _technically_ that part of me wasn't always Night Orchid. That name came about pretty recently. The woman you're talking about has existed for years. I don't think I could have managed without her." She admitted, picking up her mask and contemplating it silently. "And I don't think Night Orchid is something I can just put up on a shelf to rest. She's always there. As long as I'm ANBU, she will never be able to rest. What I'll do with her afterwards... well she'll always be a part of me."

"But what about us?" Naruto asked with concern in his voice.

"Maybe one day when we no longer need these masks…" She trailed off, not wanting to complete what she had almost said. She just couldn't face it.

'And I honestly don't know if I ever will.' She thought sadly.

"What are we going to do about this, Hinata?"

"I..." She bit her lip. "It couldn't possibly work. We both rely too heavily on these masks. There may be times of clarity, like now, but neither of us are equipped to make a relationship work. Don't get me wrong, Naruto. I _do _have feelings for you. I'm not sure what they are yet, but they are there. If I thought we could make it work I'd be willing to try but... consider what we're up against. Do you honestly think our chances are better than slim to none?"

Naruto sighed and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I suppose your right."

He sounded just a little too satisfied with that statement... and was that a smirk he was wearing on his face?

Before she could react Naruto grabbed her again for another smoldering kiss that left her dazed and breathless.

"Passion..." Hinata said, gasping for air, "solves none of the problems between us."

"None of them?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Pervert."

"Pffft. Since when have I ever taken advantage of any girl?"

"Well you're being far too familiar with _me_." The young woman commented dryly

"Don't tell me you're uncomfortable with me addressing you without an honorific?" He whispered huskily with his lips pressed against her ear. "Are you... _Hinata_?"

The involuntary shiver that danced down her spine was testimony enough to prove his point.

"Yeah... I have to admit I like that." Hinata leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and smiled. "I wish we could stay like this forever. But the morning always comes, you know?"

Naruto sat, absorbing the meaning of her words and enjoying the pleasant and calming smell of her hair: vanilla, lavender, cinnamon and fresh morning dew.

"The night is a wondrous thing." Naruto said softly, letting out a sigh. He felt oddly in serene despite her words. or disenchantment "But yeah, you're right. It's easy to ignore reality at a time like this. As ANBU, that's a luxury we can't really afford. You know for this," he caressed her hand, "there is no price I wouldn't pay."

Hinata pushed away from him and studied the look on his face. He was smiling, genuinely smiling. How often did she see him do that? Why did knowing she was the cause of it make her heart soar and her body hot? She had been walking on eggshells around him for the longest time, trying to minimize her feelings. Now that they were out in the open it was just plain confusing. She just didn't have a reference point from which she could track her feelings for him. She knew she was attracted to him on an intellectual, physical, and spiritual level... but how much? Was it love? Was it infatuation? Was she just going nuts?

Naruto had similar thoughts, but was better at dealing with them. He had risked a lot by sharing his secret with her. It had nearly backfired and now that things seemed to be turning out for the better, who was he to stop the ball from rolling? He had strong feelings for her, and he suspected that if he let them run rampant he might fall in love with her... maybe.

'Would that be such a bad thing?' He questioned himself. 'The timing isn't good. We're at the brink right now. Konoha hangs in the balance of our actions. We just can't risk compromising that. Hinata's right. Still maybe when this whole thing blows over... I... I think I want to try... but only with her... just with Hinata...'

"After all of this is over...the assassination and replacement of the Hokage gets settled... would you want to try?" Naruto offered confidently, absolutely terrified of rejection behind his sparkling blue eyes. He wanted to kick himself for letting it come out the way it did, but well, there it was.

"I... don't know if I can..." Hinata said sadly.

The Kyuubi container narrowed his eyes and stood. "So what are you going to do then huh? You're stuck as my partner. Nothing is going to change that. We're going to be dealing with each other constantly. It's not like we can just shove this thing into the corner and say it never happened. It worked the first few times, but there's no way we're going to go back to the way we were. Not after what happened tonight. I feel for you, and you for me. Can you deny it, Hinata?"

"But... maybe if we... I mean I could..." Hinata struggled to find words.

Naruto gripped her by her shoulders and gazed at her with smoldering orbs of cobalt. "Stop being so freaking indecisive! One way or another we have to figure out what we're going to _do_! I refuse to let us just drift apart again or have our relationship stuck in some kind of limbo! Is that really what you want?!"

"I don't know if there is anything to _do_, Naruto."

The young heiress could feel the fear pulsing through her veins. How was she supposed to know what to do? Maybe if she ignored it then it would resolve itself.

Naruto sensed her trying to squeeze away from him and finally lost his temper. "Goddamnit, Hinata! Stop trying to escape this! We can't just ignore it anymore!"

"Let go of me!" She tried to get away from him, but the man was _strong_!

"Fine." Naruto released her and she stumbled backward, landing on her butt.

For a moment it looked like the young heiress might change her mind, but she could only shake her head in apology. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I want to... but I just can't."

The young man looked disgusted. "So that's it, Hinata? Are you just going to keep running away? I thought you were stronger than that."

The statement stunned her.

"...just... keep running... away?" She echoed. Why did that sound so familiar?

"Well I'm not chasing you."

Naruto stomped off towards the edge of the clearing, clearly upset. Hinata watched him go, torn between running to him and just letting it drop. She only had a few more seconds to make her decision. She had told him not to make her decide and he had shoved it right in her face. Every synapses in her logical mind was telling her to let him go, that it wasn't going to work, that the things her heart was trying to tell her were all lies. She suppressed a cry of frustration.

What the hell was she going to do?

_SAVE HIM!_

The words popped into her mind out of nowhere. The command was so forceful that it stuck out among the rest of her mental debate. It was so powerful, like a beacon in a storm, compelling her to follow it, trust it. It implored to listen. That her salvation was dependent on doing exactly what it said. She tried to ask for help again, but the voice was silent. It was up to her now. 'That voice, it sounded like the old me. Before Pain... before I stopped loving him... Did I ever stop loving him?'

Suddenly she knew what she had to do.

* * *

Naruto paused at the edge of the clearing, his pride insisting that he leave, the rest of him screaming to stay. He closed his eyes and took in a shaky breath.

'If she doesn't have the will to take the risk it will never work...'

He took his first step, feeling confident. His second step wavered a bit, throwing him off balance. The third step was blinded by tears he didn't know he had shed until he wiped the wetness from his cheeks. His legs buckled under him, refusing to carry him another step away from her. His chest hurt like he couldn't believe. It was like the time Sasuke had punctured his lung with a chidori, except he couldn't block it out. This wasn't physical pain... his heart felt it had been crushed. It had.

How could she affect him so much? How had he become this weak? Why, instead of doing the logical thing and trying to put distance between them, of ridding himself of this infantile dependency, did he try to get closer to her? Why couldn't he stop? Why didn't he want to stop? And most importantly, why did his very soul feel like it was being viciously ripped out of his chest at the thought of giving up on her. Why did it feeling like giving up on her meant giving up on himself?

'Am I... could it be I...' The thought was so painful he banished it before it became coherent.

He sat back on his calves and pulled the tears in again. Slowly, very slowly, he was able to even his breathing and rid his mind of thoughts. Jiraiya had taught him this technique. When one was lost or confused finding their spiritual center was always the best idea. It was what he had done before Hinata arrived to speak with him. Without it, he was sure he would never have been able to tell her about the Kyuubi. 'That good for nothing fucking fox!' He thought angrily.

Kyuubi.

It ruined everything! Why couldn't anything go right for him? Why did this god forsaken world seemed hell bent to make his suffering as exquisite and thorough as possible? Were the gods angry at him? Was he just a person that was incapable of being loved? Was he no different from the boy who had sat neglected in an ally, hugging himself because nobody loved him? Was that the only part he had left of the boy he once was. Was the boy who had dared to dream truly gone forever? The boy who had dared to love; gone?

Why was that word so important? It was just four letters and one syllable, right? He didn't need it! He knew plenty of shinobi who got along without it! Jiraiya... no he had loved Tsunade and she loved him like a brother... There was Sasuke; though he didn't turn out to well... no he got Sakura. There was Kakashi... no he had gotten Anko... It seemed like almost everybody he knew had at least one person they loved... at least one person who loved them back in some fashion.

Pain. Orochimaru. Madara. Zabuza.

Those were names of people who were never loved. They were all dead.

Was that the difference between him and them? Was the thin veil that kept humanity from turning to evil contained in one little word? No, it couldn't be. He wasn't loved, not anymore, and he was still a good person. Well, maybe not exactly a good person. He did his job and lived a comfortable lifestyle. He served a purpose and was respected for it. Was there anymore to life?

Deep down he knew there was.

Was that it then? A good run? Better luck next time?

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if everyone hadn't left him. First his parents, then the 3rd, then Jiraiya, Tsunade, and finally Iruka. He knew it wasn't their fault, but when he got depressed and lonely it was so easy to get angry and blame other people. He knew he had friends who loved him, but it just wasn't enough anymore. It had been once... before she had come into his life.

Was there no escaping this? Did every soul yearn and crave the same thing? Was having a mate and children so essential to living a happy life? Did people who went without them always feel this empty inside? There were so many questions, so many doubts in Naruto's mind that he simply couldn't think anymore.

Despite his desperate thoughts, he had somehow managed to successfully separate himself from his emotions. From his centered state he reflected on what he had just experienced. He had been so strong only a few minutes ago and within seconds of her leaving he had fallen apart. He added up all of the pieces and didn't like what he found. The logical answer, the symptoms he was suffering, all pointed to the same thing. But there was just no way. If he let it happen he would die.

There was no way he could let himself love her.

Finally he was able to stand. He straightened himself out and took a deep breath. He picked up his mask from where he had dropped it and strapped it over his face.

He was impervious. He was the Dark Fox. He could handle this.

'Soul of ice. Soul of ice.' The mantra continued in his head.

He had closed his heart to the world once. He could do it again. Except this time he had the feeling there would be no redemption.

As he took that final step, sealed the last nail in his coffin, resigned his soul to death, a pair of warm arms wrapped around his waist.

"I'm not running. Not this time." Hinata's voice trembled with unchecked emotion. "Not ever."

He turned around and came face to face with his partner. Her eyes were still wet with tears, but he could see the silent resolve behind them. Hinata moved her hands up behind his neck and removed his mask, kissing him lightly on the lips. Somehow that gesture held more meaning than anything she had ever done for him.

She had taken off the mask. She didn't want Dark Fox. She wanted _him. _The _real_ him.

Naruto was unable to control the tears and was unashamed.

Somehow, in a cruel twisted world, there was still somebody who loved him. And somehow, that was enough.


	25. Setting the Stage

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi couldn't sleep. Shikamaru was gone, his daughter was out of control, and his servant had mistakenly brought him the wrong brand of tea.

On his desk was a scroll that he had been staring at for the last several hours. His eyes flickered to the large grandfather clock in the corner.

'4:30am? I might as well stay up. It's almost dawn anyway.'

He reached forward and deposited the scroll into the sleeve of his long robes. He stood from his desk and smiled ever so slightly.

"I believe its time I gave this to you, daughter."

* * *

By the time Raven Name got back to the flat there was no point in going to sleep. It was almost 2:00am and they had to be down at ANBU HQ by 4:30am. Besides, they were both wrought with confusion over what had transpired between them only half an hour earlier.

After she had come back to him and declared she wouldn't run away, Naruto had initially felt greatly relieved.

Another impromptu make-out session had occurred shortly after her first tentative kiss. It wasn't quite as passionate as their other bout, but in retrospect it troubled both of them more. Passion was in the vocabulary of Dark Fox and Night Orchid, affection however... well it was better not to dwell on the subject.

They had both dawned their masks a few minutes later and returned in a tense silence to the apartment. Naruto had sat down on the couch with a speculative look in his eyes while Hinata poured herself a much needed glass of hard sake. She had poured a second one for Naruto, but he uncharacteristically declined. Apparently he didn't want to take any chances with that slight loss of judgment that even a single drink could render. Hinata had just shrugged and had it herself.

The young heiress had wisely decided _not_ to have another, and instead settled for some chocolate she had stashed away in the back of the vegetable drawer; a place her partner never dared venture. In Naruto's opinion the small facsimiles contained in his ramen packets were more than sufficient, given he took some vitamin supplements and consumed the occasional stirfry his domestically gifted partner cooked for him.

Unfortunately, there were only three pieces left. Of the three one was milk chocolate with a mint filling, something Hinata was not particularly fond of... at all. Feeling rather generous, she walked over to her partner, who was quite obviously in deep thought, and offered him one.

"Chocolate?" She asked delicately.

"Huh?"

"I said would you like some chocolate?"

Naruto's eyes flicked to the small piece she held in her hand. "Milk chocolate?"

"I don't really like this kind, and I know you prefer milk over dark so..."

The Kyuubi host rolled his eyes. "Gods, calm down Hinata. You don't need to worry about explaining every little thing to me. Partnership. Trust. Remember?"

"S-sorry," she stuttered, blushing prettily, "I'm not feeling that secure right now."

Naruto accepted the chocolate and popped it into his mouth. He leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. He had expected some witty remark to come to the surface of his brain, but oddly enough it didn't. The heavy atmosphere must have been dampening his sense of humor.

'Kami-sama, but this is going to get real complicated real fast...' He reflected.

"I guess I know what you mean." He answered finally, not really saying anything substantial in his reply.

"Um, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

Hinata poked her fingers together. "D-do you like me?"

Naruto gave her the oddest look. "Are you joking? You're really falling back into those habits again? Come on, Hinata, grow up."

"But-"

"Of course I like you, idiot." He interrupted her. "I would think it would be clear after... well..."

Hinata silently chastised herself for letting her buried insecurities take control. Naruto was right. There was no reason to let her old idiosyncrasies slip into her demeanor just because of him. That would be... pathetic.

"It won't happen again." The Hyuuga said in a strong voice, then softer: "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Now just isn't the time." Naruto asserted. "Focus on the mission."

She furrowed her brows together and tried to do what he said. Despite her efforts all she could think about was what she had learned about Naruto's life. The host of the Kyuubi? It explained so much. Now that he had told her it seemed so obvious.

'And I'm supposed to be perceptive.' She criticized herself.

Well its not like they had anything else to do until they left. She decided she might as well bring it up.

"Its still difficult for me to believe you've been harboring Kyuubi all this time." Hinata began.

"Well, my father _was_ talented." Naruto retorted.

"He must have been to be able to seal something like that." The Hyuuga agreed.

Naruto shrugged. "It could have been worse."

"Oh?" Hinata prompted.

"Yeah," the blonde continued, "it could have been the Jubi."

Hinata didn't really know what to say to that. Even if it was supposed to be funny, the thought of the Jubi was so terrifying that it washed away any humor.

"Did they ever find it?"

"Sit down. Its awkward with you standing there." Naruto said irritably. "No, they never did."

Hinata carefully placed herself on the opposite side of the couch. No reason to take risks with temptation. Discretion _was_ the better part of valor.

"What do you think Madara did with it?" She asked, a hint of fear contaminating her otherwise flawless facade.

"Who knows? He was the only one he was able to control that monster anyway." Her partner stated. He seemed awfully calm about it.

Hinata put the first dark chocolate treasure in her mouth, thinking. "You're not worried it might break free or something?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not really. Madara sealed it using his own chakra. He was afraid that someone might try and double-cross him. By doing that only someone with his same chakra signature, or someone with significantly more power than him could reactivate it. Needless to say I've yet to meet someone with even close to enough power."

"How did you ever beat him?" The silver-lavender of her eyes swirled with intrigue.

The Konoha pariah's eyes lost focus for a moment. "I don't wanna talk about it." He said quietly.

"I understand."

A stagnant space filled the room and neither of them spoke for several minutes. Hinata's thoughts were centered around the probability of Naruto surviving everything he did. She quickly concluded that he had more luck than anyone person should have been entitled to; that it might run out. No matter, if it ever did, she would be there for him.

Naruto on the other hand...

'Did he really do it? There's no way. He had to be joking.' He closed his eyes and focused on taking deep, even breaths. 'Sasuke-teme, you idiot!'

Hinata watched the conflict brewing behind her partner's eyes. She speculated on his thoughts while savoring the last chocolate in the small box she held. She placed the empty container on the small table to the left of the couch where a small lamp was situated. As she did this, some little piece of memory snapped back into her mind.

"Why did you tell me never to follow you?" She asked, breaking the long spell of silence. "You know, when I first moved in with you?"

Naruto opened one eye and the corners of his lips lifted in an indulgent smile. "Would you want someone to interrupt _your_ weekly meditation?"

"That's _it_?" Hinata let out an exasperated sigh. "And to think you had me all worked up over something like that!"

The Kyuubi container snorted. "Well it _was_ important."

The young woman scowled. "Don't you think your warning was a bit overkill?" She vividly recalled how deadly serious her partner had been when he told her not to follow him at night.

"Apparently not." Naruto replied dryly. "Who was it that showed up to my private clearing tonight?"

"That's hardly fair." Hinata pointed out. "You _wanted_ me to follow you. Besides, I had forgotten about your little 'warning' until just now."

"See? What did I tell you?"

"You're impossible." Hinata huffed and folded her arms beneath her full breasts.

"Keh! I never forced you to stick around ya'know."

She stuck her tongue out at him in protest.

"Yeah, _real_ mature there, Hinata."

"Bleh!" She pulled down on one eyelid an Naruto let out a little chuckle.

"I gotta admit though, you could pass for fifteen any day of the week."

Feeling emboldened because of the light feel of their conversation, Hinata decided to mess with him bit.

"Is that what I am?" She said in a husky voice, laughing throatily. "Just a little girl, Naruto?"

The young man began to sweat. "Uh... I um, don't know about that..."

Hinata beamed at him at giggled prettily. "Gods, you're easy!"

A hint of pink dusted Naruto's cheeks. "Well, you learned from the best." He said in a show of false ego.

"Apparently." She reached over and poked him in the side. "After all, you were the village's number one maverick prankster, right?"

He elegantly arched his eyebrows and sniffed, doing his best to look haughty and prideful. "Who says I ever lost that title?"

Hinata looked at him, suspicion in her eyes. "Were you the one who kept on sanding the joints in Shikamaru's chairs?"

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Hina-chan." The supposed ex-prankster said, looking sickeningly innocent.

She poked him again. "Uh, huh. _Riiight_."

Little crinkles appeared in the corners of her eyes and she laughed, blinding him with her smile.

"You really need to stop doing that." He said, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Eh?" Hinata remarked in genuine confusion.

Naruto winked. "Being cute."

"Oh, please." She made a shooing gesture with her hand. "You're just jealous my act is better than yours."

"Do I need to bring Naruko into this?" He teased.

"Otherwise known as your expose-the-closet-otaku-jutsu?" The young heiress laughed.

"Who said anything about closets? I just use it to see Kakashi-sensei sweat in front of Anko."

Hinata clutched at he abdomen with one hand and covered her mouth with another, trying to calm her frazzled nervous system.

"I swear I've been hanging around you too long."

"Obviously." Naruto stated.

A sudden thought struck her. "Do you think that blood transfusion could have affected me somehow?"

"Eh?" Naruto looked skeptical.

"When I almost died... I mean do you think it could of-"

She was cut off: "I talked to Sakura about it a while back. She said it was a possibility, but one that was very unlikely. At the most I might have imprinted my chakra on you." His speech pattern slowly shifted from casual and light-hearted to informative. "I sincerely doubt that it corrupted your personality any more than I already had." He looked at the expression on her face that he often saw in the mirror. "Have." He amended.

"Imprint?" She questioned, abandoning their banter to her curiosity.

Naruto sighed. It was such a small possibility, he was really wasting his breath talking about it. Whatever, she could believed what she felt like believing. "Think of it as hanging out with someone all the time, for example, me. Anyone you spend a fair share of time with will affect your personality and mannerisms to some extent. Same principle. Having a little of my blood circulate through you might have familiarized your body to my chakra. It's possible that you took on a few of my traits... I mean, I've never seen you put so much chakra into a single part of your body. It might be that your coils were altered slightly either to carry more chakra, or to withstand the pressure of a greater chakra density. Again though, this is just speculation."

"It was hardly 'a little blood.' " Hinata scoffed.

"So you think that's the case huh?" Naruto said doubtfully.

Hinata considered it.

There were several changes she'd experienced since recovering from her coma. She had trained up faster than expected and was a lot hungrier all the time. Her body craved foods that she normally hated, which forced her to eat a better diet. Then there were the batterings she could withstand from her partner like she had earlier that night. Not to mention having slightly faster reflexes, greater strength and higher chakra output than she recalled possessing before. Still, everything she'd thought of could still be attributed to the sheer intensity of her training.

The only things that didn't make much sense were... well her senses. Her regular eyesight and her Byakugan were both a little better than she remembered, a little sharper. Her smell could decipher what was missing in a recipe easier when she cooked, and music seemed a bit more pleasant to her ears. Still, it sounded far fetched to her. It was very possible that is was purely pyschosomatic. Then again, she didn't want to rule out any explanations.

Plus, it was nice just to here the sound of her partners voice.

"So my improved resilience, increased metabolism, higher chakra output, and heightened senses could be because of an 'imprint' your blood gave me?"

Naruto shook his head. "As I said, it's only a minor possibility. I mean, you seemed to have plenty of power before that incident... what the hell _is_ that technique anyway?"

Hinata blushed. "Actually I'm not sure. Whenever I get really, really mad, or in a life or death situation everything slows down. It's not something I taught myself, I just _did_ it. The first time was about two years ago. I was still working in a group of three then. Some jonin jumped us and knocked Kiba-kun and Shino-kun out. They were going to kill all of us and I just snapped. My teammates never found out. Thought they wondered why I had fainted. When it first started happening I would pass out whenever I used it. Even now, it takes a lot out of me."

"So if you never learned it. Why the name?" Naruto asked, not really caring about the particulars of the jutsu's after affects.

"Shining Stance? Well it just seemed appropriate."

"Uh, huh. You _sure_ you haven't been watching too many old-school animes?" He questioned perceptively.

Hinata rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I know _how_ it works." She continued, ignoring his verbal jab. "I just don't know how to do it without the catalyst of anger or danger. As for the technique, its basically an improved, sustained version of the Kaiten. I constantly spin chakra really close around my body, kind of like body armor. When I'm in that state manipulating chakra into other techniques is really easy. The rotation pretty much happens without me thinking about it, so all I need to do is increase the amount of chakra I'm outputting to a certain section of my body. That's how my hand wasn't disintegrated by your rasengan."

"Hmmmmm... sounds similar to how I was as a genin." Naruto observed. "I could use the Fox's power directly, but only if I was mad or about to die. Ero-sennin... I mean Jiraiya-san threw me off a cliff once just so I could use the chakra to master a summoning technique."

Hinata guffawed. "He did not."

He smirked. "Sure did. Lucky for me, it actually worked. Anyway, eventually I learned to call on the Fox's power whenever I wanted."

"You think we can work on that with my technique?" Hinata asked hopefully.

"Maybe, I'm not sure if it'll work the same."

"Yeah..."

"Yeah..."

Hinata paused and realized why they were talking about what they were talking about. Or more accurately, how they were trying _not_ to talk about what had happened earlier that night.

"We keep dancing around what happened to us at the clearing." She said in quiet resignation.

Naruto chuckled. "Well I'm not as keen to talk about it as you."

"I guess."

The young kunoichi closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her fingers. "I... I don't know how this happened, but somehow we started to develop feelings for each other. Maybe in a different lifetime, one where we didn't have so many responsibilities..."

"Like?"

"Like ANBU. We can't be romantically involved, its against policy." She almost laughed at herself for that, but how else could she try and talk about their feelings unless she approached it from a technical and logical viewpoint? " Besides, even if we could keep it a secret, our emotions could get in the way of us completing missions effectively. Then there's the rest of the village to deal with. How would they take it? Not to mention my father's reaction would be."

"Screw em." Naruto suggested caustically with a hint of sarcasm that only his partner could ever pick up.

"I'm trying to be serious here." The frustrated ANBU complained.

"And I wasn't being serious?" Her partner asked in a sotto voice. "Hinata, no matter what we do about it, its still there. All that we can do is choose which path to take. Anyway, as far as regulation is concerned, people break it all the time. I mean, how else would the council be able to ensure the future of Konoha's forces? Did you know that three-man cells were developed to inspire relationships? One girl and two boys- it becomes a competition for the guys, and its probable the girl will like at least one of them."

Hinata scowled. "You think I don't know that, stupid? It's different in ANBU."

"Well, only a little. I mean, it used to be the same way until they started making duos instead of trios. Now most of the partnerships are same-sex, but it's not uncommon for a man and a woman to be on a team: about one third of the black ops. is comprised of male-female combos. I bet you half of them are involved with each other." He snickered childishly. "So what's one more pair of lovers going to hurt?"

He couldn't believe he'd just said that. Did he really _want_ to cross that line with her, or did he just want to scare her off? Was the latter of those two thoughts only justification for asking? Was he secretly hoping she'd agree with that load of crap he'd just spouted? His thoughts ran him in circles until he was dizzy. Still, he just couldn't understand...

'Why in the hell did I say that?'

"Your logic is seriously flawed. And we're not lovers." She pointed out.

'Do you want to be?' He thought huskily, then panicked when he thought he'd said it out-loud. A quick rational study of her facial expression assured him that he hadn't.

"And you're just being stingy. Look, we've already dropped the suffixes. It's all downhill from there." He said, trying to recover his composure with some much needed levity.

"This conversation is going nowhere." Hinata stood and marched away into her room.

Naruto watched as she ran away. Again.

'And it looks like we're going nowhere too.'

* * *

The "Launch Bay" as most ANBU operatives affectionately called it, was located behind the great rock wall of the Hokage Monument. Hiashi had always found it silently amusing that the large stables containing the numerous messenger pigeons and travel hawks were stored in the back of the Sandaime's head. It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "bird for brains."

The long flight of stairs that led from the base entrance of the ANBU HQ to the large room he currently presided in had taken him ten minutes to climb. Despite his excellent physical condition he found the schematics of HQ annoying at best and detestable at worst. Still, he had his mind set on something, and as the leader of the Hyuuga he needed to follow through with his duties.

'5:00am.' He thought, looking at the large circular clock in the northwest corner of the room. 'They should be finishing their briefing anytime now.'

He technically was not permitted to be where he was. Fortunately being the Lord of the Hyuuga clan had its perks, such as a 'no questions asked' policy whenever he glared at a subordinate chuunin. He smiled at the thought. It was so easy to intimidate the younger generation. Had all the backbone finally been bred out of the common families of Konoha? It made no difference to him. The Hyuuga were a proud and noble clan. What did he care for the welfare of commoners?

He heard the sudden approach of echoing footsteps and straightened his posture even more (if it was possible.) From around the corner a shock of blonde hair affronted him. Following closely by its side was a noble sweep of blue-black silk. Both carried themselves with great pride. He was almost pleased with their entrance until he noticed:

Why were they standing so close?

The blonde shot him a glare from across the room and the blue-black ignored him completely. After they had strapped their bags and provisions on to the back of the large hawk-mounts an attendant with a clipboard went to give the birds and their tack a thorough check. It was the end of the graveyard shift, so only other operative present was the stable master, who was gently working to apply fresh bandages to a hawk with an injured wing. With both of their focuses elsewhere, it was the perfect opportunity for Hiashi to speak with his daughter... and the demon-boy.

His approach was steady and proud. The distance was closed in a tense silence until he stopped two meters from the duo.

"What do you want, Hiashi-_sama_?" The Kyuubi container all but growled.

"To speak with my daughter regarding matters that do not concern you." He snapped.

Hiashi could almost see the hackles rise on the tall blonde, but fortunately his daughter stepped forward. He did not miss her calming touch to the Uzumaki's forearm.

"Father." She said plainly.

"Daughter." He acknowledged in a tone equally bland.

She relaxed slightly, silently communicating that she wasn't in the mood for a fight.

"I have come to give you this." The Hyuuga Lord said, not bothering with pleasantries.

He removed a weathered and ancient looking scroll from his right sleeve. It was bound by a single piece of white cloth material around its center.

"What's that?" His daughter asked warily.

"Just an heirloom. It's time you take a look at it." Hiashi explained stoically.

He extended his arm to its maximum range. His daughter did the same and calmly removed the scroll from his hold. She lifted it to her eyes, as if contemplating. Then in a minute display of annoyance she exhaled forcefully through her nose.

Hinata removed the piece of cloth and opened the scroll.

"Father, this is written in a language I don't recognize."

"I don't know." Naruto said speculatively. "It kind of resembles ancient Celtic."

For a split second Hiashi's eyes widened. The display passed over his features so quickly that neither of the two ANBU noticed.

"Well, its yours to keep." He said with a nearly imperceptible edge in his voice.

"Something wrong, Father?"

"No. I merely forgot that I need to return to estate. I have an early audience with the elders concerning a trifling matter."

"I see..." Hinata said slowly.

"Be safe, Daughter." His eyes briefly met her gaze, then flickered to the Kyuubi-boy. "I expect she will not insult the name of Hyuuga again, Uzumaki."

With a slight nod and an arch of his eyebrows he dismissed himself, turning on his heel and exiting the room.

"Well that was bizarre." Hinata said after a beat.

"Eh? What was, Hinata-san?" Naruto asked, remembering to keep his honorifics in line while in the presence of others.

Hinata turned to face him with a puzzled look on her face. "My father gave you a compliment, Naruto-kun."

"He did? Sure looked like an insult to me."

The young heiress shook her head slowly. "No, that was his way of saying thank you."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed a bit too loud to be considered discrete. The bastard had complimented him?

"Essentially he said that he trusted you to make me stronger. And I'm pretty sure he's not in the Kyuubi appreciation club." The latter was said with obvious sarcasm.

"Really? I guess that is pretty strange then, isn't it?" Naruto agreed, calming down.

Their conversation was cut short by the attendant, who had just marked off the last box on his pre-flight checklist.

"Dark Fox, Night Orchid." He called, grabbing their attention. "Your mounts are ready."

Hinata retied the scroll and slipped it into a tube-shaped scroll carrier on the side of one of her packs.

Naruto leaped effortlessly and landed in the seated position the large travel saddle. As he strapped himself in he said: "You ever traveled by hawk before, Night Orchid?"

Hinata slipped on her mask, using the mini stair to climb atop her own bird. She regarded him through the small slits in the ceramic tigress face.

"No, but there's a first time for everything." She yelled over the noise of the launch platform hydraulics lifting them up.

The large circular dais moved up to an identically shaped blast door that opened as they neared it. Wind ripped down the short runway and over the forms of their mounts as a rock wall slid out of place in front of them to reveal a quickly darkening sky dotted with storm clouds. The powerful talons of their hawks gripped the wood of the take off zone with their legs bent, prepared to spring at the signal of their riders.

It was a scant hundred yards to the narrow rectangular opening. The birds had roughly 35 foot wingspans and the run-space wasn't more than fifty in width.

"Pretty cozy up here isn't it?" Naruto yelled over the scream of the wind and pelting rain that began to strike them at a nearly horizontal angle. "Did you ever learn how to command one of these guys? Its going to be a really rough flight from what the meteorologist had to say at the briefing." His mask looked sinister in a sudden flash of lightning that lit the darkened area.

Hinata smiled a challenge, her bold gaze visible even through her mask. "No. But there's no time like the present is there?"

Naruto's laugh was drowned out by a loud rumble of thunder that vibrated the deck beneath them.

Behind them three birds came in for a landing.

The runway was at a diagonal in the monument that allowed for a single straight strip to be built for both take-off and landing. The stone walls at either end were both opened for any activity, so the birds could take advantage of any headwind that might be blowing through. A large elevator at either end of the hundred twenty yard deck let both take-offs and landing occur simultaneously.

With a loud whoop Naruto pressed his inner thighs against the body of his hawk. The bird lurched forward and in a sudden burst of acceleration sprinted down the runway, flapping its wings to gain lift and airspeed. Just as the sheer vertical cliff of the drop came into the view the bird lifted off the ground. The amount of space between Naruto and the ceiling was so small that had he stood and reached up with his hand he could have touched it.

Hinata took all of it in and grimaced. This was probably a very bad idea, but her partner hadn't backed down so...

She yelled in defiance of her fear and kicked the sides of her bird, startling it into a headlong rush out the doors.

Just as she was about to clear the opening a flight deck officer came rushing out of a side entrance screaming: "WAIT!"

But it was too late. In a rush of air and adrenaline she took off into the turbulent skies above Konoha.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi watched as the two large birds took off into the angry sky. As he watched them he couldn't help but speculate, 'Why, why can she do it? What makes her different from the rest of us? Was Hiama really right? Were we wrong to exile him? My daughter, this was unexpected of you... The elders must know at once. Nobody has ever accomplished what you have, and without giving so much as a second thought. We've had experts work on it for decades with no results and now... '

There were so many questions that needed to be answered and so little time. 'And the Kyuubi-boy. He too...'

His daughter had been unable to recognize the language and the Uzumaki had thought it vaguely resembled Celtic. That they were able to identify the writing as a forgotten language and not just gibberish was not what troubled Hiashi. True that was remarkable progress, but it paled in comparison to what they had already accomplished the second they had opened the scroll.

For the last three generations that scroll had been blank...

* * *

"Kami, it was rough out there!" One of the three ANBU said as he dismounted his bird in the holding bay, below the flight deck.

"Yeah," another agreed, "I'm surprised they let that last flight off the ground!"

"Takes guts." The last grunted.

"This is flight operations commander Fujita." An authoritarian male said loudly over the HQ's PA loudspeaker system. "A hurricane is forming off the coast and conditions are too dangerous for air operations. All scheduled sorties are grounded. Please report to your C.O. for new assignments. That is all."

The three operatives shared a knowing look.

"Whoever those two were, they were either incredibly foolish or suicidally brave." Said the leader.

"We better report to the Commander that a sortie took off before the announcement." Added the second.

"Hopefully they both have the experience to handle the hawks and get them back to base before anything bad happens." Said the third.

"But even if they can manage the turbulence, they're bound to get lost in those clouds..." The second trailed off.

The leader grimaced. "We have to talk to the commander. Its up to them whether they live or die."


	26. Two ANBU, Half a Bird, and a Prayer

Author G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

'Can we really fly in this?' Hinata thought after the first two minutes of being tossed around like a rag doll in a washing machine.

The wind buffeted against the strong wings of Hinata's hawk. The hawk knew to follow the leader, so there was very little for her to do except think she was going to fall to her death at any moment.

She was brave. There was no doubt about that. She would follow him if he said they could do it.

'Father never did approve of cowards.'

Hinata hunched all the way over, doing her best to present minimal surface area, all the while making sure she kept Naruto dead in her sights. If she had some sort of task she would have been able to deal with the stress better, but just watching lightning bolts flash in the distance was… unsettling.

'This has got to be extreme, even the bird is freaked!'

Hinata could feel the aura of her distraught travel companion directly between her legs. Despite its fear, the powerful muscles and tendons worked furiously, rippling with strength and swaying the young woman with each powerful flap of its wings. The bird struggled to maintain stable and on course. Wind howled over the wingtips of the sleek bird of prey, making an eerie high pitched whistle.

A sudden gust of wind flipped the bird vertical. Instead of fight the burst of angry wind the hawk did a rapid barrel roll and they were upright again.

It was too much. That had scared the hell out of her. Her anxiety beat out her pride and she clicked the small button on the right side of her mask that would activate the headset mike.

Normally a storm like this would render the radios useless, but fortunately her partner was only thirty yards ahead and to the side of her.

"This is Night Orchid. Dark Fox, come in, over." She felt so silly talking like that, but everybody did it, right?

"Copy, Night Orchid. Dark Fox here. Go ahead."

"Is flying in this weather advisable?" She asked as calmly as she could manage.

"….I think we can skirt around it…." Came a reply that was not nearly as assuring as she had hoped it would be.

"And if we can't?"

"No use in getting ourselves thrashed up here. If we can't get out in the next twenty minutes we'll land and make camp 'till the storm blows over."

"Roger." She let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding.

He knew what he was doing. He would protect her. She was safe.

She continued to follow him for another three minutes before it began raining… hard. The droplets struck with a fury that made her front sting even through her heavy jumpsuit. The thick padded leather flight vest she wore on top of it was tough enough ward off any wind of water that might try and break through to harass her sensitive flesh. The matching chaps and heavy snow boots provided protection for her exposed lower half. Inside the slits of her ANBU mask double pained glass had been installed, removing the possibility of a stray raindrop getting through.

It was comforting to be wearing so much gear. It made her feel strong, protected, and impervious to any harm. She knew it was a delusion that often resulted in death on the battlefield, but in her current situation Hinata couldn't have cared less. If it put the thought of a lethal plummet one step farther away from her mind it was good enough for her.

The deep bass of thunder indicated that the storm was getting closer. Judging from the time between the flash of lightning and the crash of thunder it was about ten miles away. Five minutes earlier it had been twenty…

"Dark Fox, are you sure we can outrun the storm…. Dark Fox?" Nothing but garbled static answered her.

She activated her Byakugan and extended her view to its maximum range- about two hundred yards. When that failed she tried to find his chakra signature, but she was too shaken to find the center of her aura necessary to reach out. She looked down at the pouch on her right side and realized her compass was packed in one of the heavy bags strapped to the side of the hawk; out of reach unless she wanted to unstrap herself.

A second later she was thankful she hadn't tried that stunt. A powerful downdraft pushed Hinata and her mount down at a rate of fifty feet per second. The avian desperately beat its wings in an attempt to regain altitude, but all it managed to do was slow the fall. The ground got closer and closer until Hinata was sure they were going to crash. She flared her chakra, hoping that her partner would be able to locate her and help before it was too late.

A sudden updraft flung them skyward again, catching both by surprise. The already exhausted hawk was unable to stabilize itself and rocked violently in the flurry. A gust from the side pitched them upside down again and the bird nimbly recovered once more- right into a low level cloud.

Dampness immediately penetrated the tough material that had warded the Hyuuga for so long. More urgent than the rapid decrease in her body temperature were the air pockets that were now buffeting her mount around like a pinball. The disoriented hawk kept trying to make its way out of the cloud, compensating more and more until the lift under its wings was dangerously low. It stalled and another brutal gust sent the duo tumbling.

They were in an uncontrolled freefall. Fear gave way to terror and terror gave way to utter panic as the G-forces began to strain the straps of Hinata's saddle and harness. She tried to cling to the hawk, but the strain put on her body was so great that all she could do was hang limp in her restraints. The blood rushed out of her head towards her toes and darkness began to edge at her vision, threatening to render her unconscious.

_SNAP!_

'Fuck!'

The first restraint of her five point harness broke.

* * *

'Oh shit.'

Naruto watched as Hinata veered off behind him, unable to control her hawk in the storm. He had tried to bring them around and back to the base; big mistake. Had it not been for the sudden spike in her chakra level he would never have been able to determine her location. An ordinary person wouldn't have been able to focus in the storm. Sometimes being a sage had its perks… still…

'Damnit! I need more time!'

Naruto grimaced as he watched the cumulonimbus clouds slowly grow from small and benevolent to massive and menacing. How the hell were they moving so fast? He needed to warn her. She wasn't used to flying in bad weather… and this wasn't _just_ bad. No one in their right mind would fly in this weather.

He was already beating himself up about it. How could he have been so arrogant? He should've known the second that wind came blasting through those hanger doors that the sortie was a no-go.

'I should've known, but I was distracted. Stupid! I can master my mind and body in ninjutsu and taijutsu, and yet somehow she… damn.' It was indisputable: he couldn't get her out of his head.

Yes, he wanted to see where their ambiguous relationship would take them. Yes, he wanted her to be a bigger part of his life. Yes, he was aware that his feelings were walking the fine line between companionship, possessiveness and passion. Yes, he wanted to throw her down and fuck her until she screamed his name, but Kami-be-damned if he was going to let her interfere with his performance as a shinobi. He had to focus. This was serious.

'We've gotten out of worse scrapes than this before… though I can't remember one right now…'

Judging by the strength of her signature she was finally in radio range. Naruto clicked on a small device built into the side of his mask, opening the comm. channel.

"Night Orchid, this is Dark Fox." He said through the crackle of static. "We need to go back to base. We can't fly in this mess any longer, it's too dangerous."

"Da…..x….can….hawk….sist….ver…" The reply was a panicked broken shriek.

'Shit.' He thought not for the first time since they had taken off.

He squeezed his thighs together harder, signaling his mount to increase its speed. It was a dangerous move considering the flying conditions, but he knew it was necessary. It was clear they couldn't make it back to base anymore. His first priority was finding his partner and getting them to the ground safely so they could wait out the storm. His second priority was getting rid of the awful tension in his chest.

'Stupid anxiety; useless. She'll be fine. Just get your shit together.'

He banked the bird under some low level clouds. Her chakra reading was all over the place… no, that wasn't right, was she above him?

He saw a flash of movement two hundred yards to his right. A large hawk burst through the cloud cover screeching in terror as it rolled beak over tail feathers. Hinata was plummeting in free fall.

'Well she's below me now!'

Naruto watched in horror as the bird tumbled further out of control. The speed of the spin had probably rendered his partner unconscious. Even as his mind blanked in fear at the high possibility of death, his hands moved to bring his own hawk into a dive. Years of training suppressed any possibility of panic. He could and would do this.

'Piece of cake.'

His ready mount understood its master's command to intercept its imperiled comrade and complied, and taking them down at eighty degrees, wings folded in for maximum speed. The wind which had previously been a loud howl was now a bellowing roar. Miniature contrails formed behind the wingtips of his hawk, a telltale sign that they were going fast. _Damn fast_. He felt the bird beneath him begin to shudder as the intense speed started to work against them, lowering stability instead of increasing control.

The distance between the two birds narrowed as the ground began to grow startlingly larger below them. Naruto turned his will into a mental beam, urging his partner to sense his presence. He felt her intangible response, and the hawk slowed its spin slightly. Six seconds later he passed her. Hinata's mount saw his comrade in front of it and instinctively maneuvered to follow. The reassurance its brethren offered proved just enough to encourage a recovery. In a gentle arc both birds pulled up to a flat and steady flight path.

When his adrenaline had faded Naruto looked down and winced. They couldn't have been higher than fifteen yards above the treetops. He risked a look back to see how his partner was faring.

His heart seized in his chest. The flight saddle was empty.

* * *

Hinata regained consciousness with a start.

The last thing she remembered was swearing she was going to die.

Something felt very wrong. Something _was_ very wrong.

'Thank God for safety harnesses.'

She was hanging by the last strap that was hooked into the flight saddle. She was literally underneath the belly of her bird. Before panic had a chance to take over, she agilely twisted her torso into a spin, grabbed the saddle horn, and swung back up into place. Somehow the balance of her hawk felt wrong. She leaned over and discovered that one of her travel bundles had fallen off when a tie ripped.

'Better it than me.' She thought gratefully.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Naruto in front of her. She quickly hit the talk button for her built in headset. She frowned when there was no audible click to indicate its function.

'It's busted.'

As her hawk maintained its shallow descent, she saw Naruto glance behind him. The way his presence had spiked suggested he had been surprised. Had he not known she was ok?

She gave him a big thumbs-up and molded herself forward into the saddle. It seemed to be enough for Naruto; he turned back around and increased the angle of descent. Hinata watched the ground grow larger and squinted to look for a landing spot. Sure enough, her partner had found one, about two hundred yards ahead.

They touched down in a small clearing just large enough for the birds to halt five yards before the tree-line. Both dismounted in a single fluid motion and began to remove their survival kits from the saddle bags on their respective birds. Silence filled the next few minutes as they attended to moving their birds under the cover of the trees and locating a place to set up camp.

"There's a level spot over there." Naruto said finally, studying his partner. He removed his mask and shook out his hair. "Let's get the tent up first."

"Yeah." Hinata agreed. She followed his example and pushed her mask up to the top of her head.

There would be time for talking later. The most important thing was set up camp and get warm. The maelstrom of wind and rain had soaked both of them through to the bone. Even the oiled leather riding vest and chaps had proved vulnerable to the ferocity of the storm. They weren't in immediate danger, but being cold was no fun either. Still, there was a small chance of getting sick… at least for Hinata.

Five minutes later and the tent was up. All of the bags were shoved into one corner and their sopping wet clothes were deposited into an empty sealing scroll. Sleeping pallets were set up side by side with an electric lantern in-between to illuminate the dark atmosphere of the inside of the tent. A battery powered hot-pot began to boil water for two cup noodles that Naruto had removed from one of his packs. The hot broth would help them warm up quicker.

Of course drying off would help more.

"Did you pack any towels?" Naruto asked.

"I d-did b-but the p-pack carrying them f-f-fell off wh-when…" Hinata shuddered with cold. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"Well let's get into something warm. I mean, as much as I like seeing you in a bra and panties…" He chuckled.

"W-wise ass."

The Hyuuga kneeled and dug through a bag containing her civilian clothing. Towards the bottom she found what she was searching for: an oversized black t-shirt and a pair of matching sweatpants. She struggled to get them on over her soaked skin. A bit of effort and graceless wiggling finally managed to get the precious clothes over her chilled body. All the while she had observed her partner, who did little more than throw on a pair of white martial art style pants. Every movement captured his masculine perfection. He bent over to retrieve his sleeping bag and the supple muscles under the taunt skin of his abdomen rippled. His broad chest rose and fell as he worked, highlighting the strength of his pectorals, his shoulders and his arms.

The water in the hot-pot began to boil and Naruto shut it off. He grabbed the handle and poured the water into the two noodle cups, handing one to his partner. Two pairs of chopsticks appeared in his hands. He kept the plain looking ones for himself and handed the more ornate pair to Hinata. He poured the remaining hot water into two small tin cups and added teabags, handing the one with more liquid to his Hyuuga companion.

Hinata accepted the cup and sipped, ignoring the scalding temperature in favor of its warming effect. "Th-thanks."

"Heh, it's my job to be prepared." Naruto said dismissively.

"Our job." She corrected.

"So…" He began, "That was unpleasant."

"And _that_ was an understatement." She pointed out.

He moved to sit opposite of her, Indian-style. He ignored the questioning look she gave him and nonchalantly put his hand on her chest.

"Yeah, we were lucky to get out of the storm and luckier to find a clearing so quickly." He observed, removing his hand after a brief feel. Since his grope was obviously business related, Hinata let it slide.

"You're suffering from hypothermia."

"And whose fault was that?" The young woman jabbed sarcastically, making an effort to control her teeth from chattering. "And I'm not _that_ cold."

"I blame Control for not grounding us in the first place. Though, in retrospect, I should have known better than to take off into this kind of weather." A strong gust attested to his statement, violently shaking the canvas of the tent. "And you're not cold, you're freezing."

"Fine, so I'm cold" She sniffed haughtily. "Looks like the ramen's about ready."

They removed the plastic lids from the cups and ate slowly, enjoying the salty warm broth and the texture of the cheap noodles. The familiar action guided them back into their standard routine of banter.

"Ninja food." Naruto slurped.

"ANBU rations." Hinata agreed with a mouthful of noodles.

The Kyuubi container smiled. "Standard practice."

"Speaking of which…" The Hyuuga segued.

"Hm?" He responded, setting down his cup and spreading out his sleeping bag.

"Those towels were wrapped in my sleeping bag."

The look on the blonde's face was one of comic disbelief. "You're messing with me."

"Afraid not."

"Idiot." His exhausted features contorted with annoyance. "Well, just put on a few more layers and use a blanket."

"Actually-"

He cut her off. "Let me guess. Your blanket and pillow were also wrapped in the sleeping bag." He rolled his eyes.

It was all she could do to nod shyly. She set down her finished cup and hid her face behind her tea.

"Couldn't you _not _go by the book for once?" He asked irritably. "I mean, efficiency is great and all, but putting all of your eggs in one basket..."

"Sorry." She said sincerely. "I'll just put on a few more layers. But you'll have to live with the guilt of me freezing to death."

"So now I'm a jerk if I don't give you the sleeping bag, is that it?" He inferred, cocking an eyebrow.

"Basically." Hinata confirmed in a faux-cheery vice.

"Great."

"Or we could just share." She teased.

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea." He replied objectively. "I'll just throw on a jacket or something. I don't get cold easily anyway."

Without thinking she reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Please?"

'Don't be an idiot. This is just a game to her.' He warned himself.

"Pfft- as if."

"Pull-eeeeeze?"

Naruto tried to look away, to look at anything other than her face, but her eyes had him locked down. Her voice was childish and her expression suggested amusement, but he could see the hint of loneliness in the silvery depths of her lavender irises. The feel of her hand was ice-cold, but an unexplainable warmth crept through the marrow of his bones. The smell of her wet hair and the pale glow of her porcelain skin clogged his senses, blotting out reason. Weakness grew in his chest; a rapidly growing inability to deny her what she wanted.

'Say no. Don't do it. You know better than this.' He told himself. 'This is just some stupid game she's playing with you. Don't turn it into something its not. It'll just be the same old shit all over again if you do.' He felt his resolve slipping. 'Just ignore it, its just banter. Come on Uzumaki, you're stronger than this. If you want to make this thing work you have to be in control. Don't rush in blind…'

"Hinata I'm just not-"

His breath caught in surprise when she reached out and secured his other wrist. She leaned forward until her face was a mere foot from his own. Her breath was visible in the frigid air of the tent.

"I hate being cold." She said in a small voice. "Please, Naruto?"

"Errr-" Said shinobi cursed himself for being weak. 'Its just one of those games women play.' He told himself again.

"Look Hinata, I'm all for getting to know each other better and I _do_ want to see where this thing's takes us, but now just isn't the time. We'll have free time when we reach the Capital. Let's just take it slow and wait 'till then." He felt himself regain control. 'Idiot, you should wait until the whole thing is over. What are you thinking? God knows how you managed to say that, Uzumaki.'

"Who said anything about our relationship?" Hinata parried flippantly. "I just think it's selfish for you to horde all that body-heat for yourself."

Realizing the futility of the argument, Naruto occupied himself with finishing his noodles and his tea.

"The cold shoulder, is it?" The heiress observed mildly. "That's even more immature than your obnoxious alter-ego."

"Speak for yourself. You could've asked without resorting to playing games." He retorted.

"Is that what I was doing?" She asked, her voice suddenly sultry and wanton. "Playing games?"

Naruto was unperturbed. "You're good at bluffing, but I'm better."

Hinata sighed. "Fine have it your way."

"Oh?" He asked curiously.

"Would you like to share your sleeping bag with me?"

"Idiot." He grumbled.

"Please?"

"You're not going to do anything devious?" He asked slowly.

"Look, boy. I'm cold, there's one sleeping bag, and you're a space-heater." She patronized. "I'm not planning anything."

"Fine." He conceded.

Somehow she had managed to manipulate him again. Was that kind of control even natural?

'Its just cause she's cold. Chill out.'

He collected the cups and utensils and wiped them off with a cleaning rag. He stuffed the empty cup noodles into a spare pocket and threw his pillow onto the single sleeping bag. He let her get in first and focused on setting the alarm on his watch. When that was done he turned the lantern down to its lowest setting and made his way over to his partners left side.

"The storm should blow over in a couple of hours. In the meantime, let's try to get some rest. We're going to have to make up for lost time, and that means flying nonstop for most of the day."

Hinata shivered, and not from the cold. "I hope so. That… I was… well let's just say the next time you try and get me to fly in this kind of weather I'll push you out the hanger doors without a bird."

Naruto ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. "Yeah… I fucked up. Sorry."

"Hmph." She huffed. "Idiot."

"Well we're alive, aren't we?"

Hinata just shook her head, hiding a small smile. "Just get in here. I'm freezing."

"Uh.." Naruto fumbled whatever sentence he had prepared. Hinata spread her arms apart and beckoned him into her embrace, shattering any remaining resistance he had to sleeping beside her.

Her hand guided him down to the soft fabric of the one-person sleeping bag. After an awkward minute of arranging their bodies they managed to get the sleeping bag zipped up around both of them. The result was their legs tangling and the length of their fronts pressing up against each other. Hinata wrapped her arms around him and Naruto followed suit. They rested their heads on the single pillow.

The position didn't allow them to maneuver much, or break eye contact for that matter. He wasn't exactly sure how many minutes passed with them just staring into each others eyes, but eventually Naruto felt his lids begin to grow heavy. He saw the exhaustion written on the face of his partner and felt a pang of… something. Was it more than fatigue? Was she sad or something?

"Hey." Hinata spoke suddenly in a voice quiet and vulnerable.

"What?" Naruto asked softly.

She pressed her body closer to his and reveled in their combined warmth. Her lips inched towards his and her eyes glazed over in tender affection. Then she stopped, her resolve wavering as fear of rejection started to seep through her. What if he said no? She had promised she wouldn't try anything. Did asking qualify as trying? It wasn't her fault his eyes were so beautiful. How could she not be affected by his close proximity? Her female instincts were something she just couldn't control.

"Please… I don't know why I need this, but I do. Please, Naruto…"

Her heart hammered in her ribcage and her voice caught in her throat. Her eyes began to water as her emotions threatened to overpower her rational mind. She suddenly had an overwhelming feeling of need for him. It was so strong that she drew back instinctively, afraid of what her heart was trying to tell her: that she wanted this man more than anything she had ever wanted in her entire life.

Naruto wasn't one-hundred percent sure what she wanted, but her silent plea, her inaudible cry demanded that he comfort her. The sound of her voice triggered something within him he didn't entirely understand. Longing surged through his body. He couldn't refuse her. He didn't want to refuse her.

"Kiss me." She whispered urgently. "Please, Naruto. Please kiss me, I-"

"Hinata..." He breathed her name and lowered his lips to hers.

The kiss was chaste and gentle, different from any other they had shared before. It wasn't passionate and lustful, or out of control and desperate. Instead, like a tearful farewell between old friends, it was bittersweet, filled with both sorrow and joy. A plethora of emotions waxed and waned between them, confusing any coherent attempt to understand what they were feeling. The only overriding truth they shared was need; need for solace, need for comfort, need for love and need for each other.

The torrent of sensations vexed their bodies and their hearts, forcing them to tremble uncontrollably like drug addicts as they parted.

"Not planning anything, eh?" He accused.

"I didn't. Really... I just..." She trailed off.

"Its ok." Naruto whispered softly, resting his forehead against Hinata's, lips parted in a delicate smile. "That's the first time we did that without yelling at each other first."

"Yeah." Hinata exhaled, stifling a giggle. "It was…I mean…" Her emotional rollercoaster took a plunge and tears began to well up behind her eyes. "Gods, Naruto, why do I feel this way?"

His eyes told her everything she wanted to know and more. "Kiss me."

"Yes." Her voice was barely audible as she pressed her lips to his.

Hinata let herself savor the feel of him, the way his body molded against hers, his sweet and firm lips, the coarse texture of his hair against her hand, the places where skin met skin… it was all wonderful. Every inch of him, every part of this moment in time was perfect.

She sighed into his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt him nip at the corners of her mouth and parted her lips slowly. His tongue sensuously caressed hers, tender and soft. Gradually she opened to give him better access. A quiet moan escaped her lips as he explored every millimeter of her mouth. The kiss deepened and her heart rate accelerated, warming her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She longed to continue, to let herself have him. Every inch of her wanted it, craved it. It would be so easy to give into him. Just thinking about it made her nether region tingle with desire. Only he could sate her. Only he could give her what she wanted.

Wait a minute. Give her what she wanted? What kind of thought was that? Did she really intend to go that far, to give herself to him? How could she let herself think like that? They had only just started to explore their new relationship. Doing something like that would only make things harder for them.

Besides, this was new ground for her. Being repressed in her childhood had stunted the growth of her sexuality. She knew the mechanics, but beyond that she was clueless. Then there was that feeling of guilt, as if she was doing was wrong. Intellectually she understood that there was nothing wrong with sex, but the anti-sex mentality had been engrained into her whether she liked it or not. It wasn't an issue she could overcome quickly. Even if she did throw caution to the wind she would probably freak out later. On the other hand if she felt this good just kissing him what would happen when…

'This is _so_ unfair." She thought ruefully. 'You want him and you can't even imagine what it would be like? I knew I should've taken Ino up on borrowing those Playgirl magazines.'

Well, she'd figure it out eventually: how to handle it and if she really wanted it from him.

'This is enough for now.' She told herself. 'We can wait as long as we need to. Wait a minute…' Wait as long as they needed?

Despite the implications of her thought process she couldn't help but glow. The thought of being with him that way just made her so happy.

Wonderful. Simply wonderful.

After several minutes of mutual exploration they parted once more.

"Thank you." She said.

"What for?"

"For this. I… I've never felt this way before…" She moved her hand to caress his cheek. "Why, Naruto? Why does this feel so right?" She whispered.

"I think…" The words caught in his throat. He couldn't say it. He didn't even know if it was true. He changed his tack. "I want to know, Hinata."

"Me too…" She placed her hand on his bare chest and smiled at him, kissing him lightly on the lips.

She made a quick decision and started to untangle her legs from his. With a little effort she managed to roll herself on top of him so she could rest her head in the crook of his neck.

"Hinata, what are you-"

"Shhh." She placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "Don't ruin the mood."

She reached over her shoulders and grabbed her shirt by the back of its collar. Before her partner could protest she pulled forward, moving the offending piece of clothing halfway off her torso. Naruto saw that she was unable to remove it the rest of the way due to lack of space and helped her, tugging it the rest of the way off and throwing it across the tent and onto their bags. Hinata smiled playfully and reached over to turn the lantern off, making the interior of the tent nearly pitch-black. Her work done, she rested her chest against his and kissed him again, sighing as she did.

"Don't get any ideas." She said, breaking the brief kiss. "I felt your chest with my hand and suddenly had the urge to feel your skin against mine. That's all."

"Mhmm." Naruto replied suspiciously.

"Shut up." She said forcefully, doing her best to hide her embarrassment.

She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the favor. The feel of his rich skin against hers was unbelievable. The longing she felt before didn't even begin to touch what she was experiencing now. She felt him shiver beneath her and smiled, realizing the effect she was having on him. The pleasure she felt was unrestrained and primal. It filled her senses in a way she hadn't thought was possible. How could something so base feel so absolutely incredible? The thought of doing the same thing without a bra crossed her mind. What would _that_ feel like? Dear gods it was too much. She knew she was dangerously close to losing control. If Naruto hadn't possessed a considerable amount of self control… well better not to think about that and test herself with more provocative images.

Naruto was having a slightly easier time controlling himself, though it still took a significant amount of willpower. Feeling her bare skin against his was exquisite. It had him itching to remove her bra. She just felt so hot against him. He couldn't help but fantasize about her. Fortunately, Jiraiya had taught him a little trick about how handle a wandering mind: thinking of every turn off he could possibly imagine. It wasn't pleasant, but it was better than succumbing to his desires.

'Teme in a bathing suit. Kaka-sensei prancing around in a skirt. Shika stripping at that one party when he got smashed…' The list went on, but even so, he struggled to maintain focus… or lack thereof.

She was just so damn beautiful. Not thinking about her was an unconventional form of torture. His mind strayed again and his control slipped for an instant.

His mouth formed the syllables of her name against his will.

"Hi..nata..."

The sound of her name on his lips pushed the Hyuuga heiress over the edge. She kissed him deeply one last time, holding nothing back. Finally satisfied, she relented and rested her head underneath his chin.

'That's it, huh?' Naruto mused with a measure of resentment. 'Guess she needed to get that last one out of her system.' He did his best to settle back into a comfortable platonic mindset.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Are we going to fall in love?" She asked quietly.

"I can't answer that question, Hinata."

"Me either. Guess it was pretty stupid to ask."

"It wasn't stupid. Just difficult. Try not to think about it, ok?" He tenderly stroked her cheek with the palm of his hand. "Let's get some sleep."

"Alright."

They laid together in silence for some time, enjoying the simple pleasure of each others presence. The wonderful warmth of their shared body-heat cocooned them from head to toe. An exquisite and profound feeling of rightness settled over them. As the glow in their hearts grew, the worries of the past, future and present vanished. All that mattered was the moment; for a few precious minutes they were free of the world and its cruelty. They breathed in perfect counterpoint as their bodies synchronized and their hearts fell into rhythm. Serenity embraced them, tempting them into the land of sleep.

The Uzumaki watched as the beautiful Hyuuga's liquid-silver pools dimmed and closed. He smiled languorously, enjoying how peaceful she looked. A face that had been plagued with angst and tears only a brief time before was now happy and fulfilled. He brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face and placed a kiss on the crown of her head. He couldn't help being affectionate. He just felt too…

'Not yet. I can't fall for her yet. I have to wait until all this is over.' It was a sad thing to acknowledge, but he knew it was the truth. He wanted her and couldn't have her. He needed her warmth, but would have to deprive himself for both their sakes. He was afraid of being with her and afraid of not being with her; he was both and neither at the same time. He didn't want to lose her, but claiming her was out of the question. 'I'm just going in circles. This whole thing sucks. What are we supposed to do? How did we even get into this mess in the first place?' It didn't matter, they had to deal with it now- both of them together. He could no longer make decisions about them without her. For the first time he found himself taking her feelings into consideration before his own. 'Ba-chan once said that love is caring for another more than yourself in every aspect of life. Is that true? Is that how I feel about you, Hinata?' He closed his eyes. 'No…'

_But you could if you let yourself_, a small voice in the back of his head whispered.

'What would you know?' He thought defensively.

_I know enough. __I know you.  
_

"Screw you. I'm going to sleep."

He closed his eyes and let Hinata's gentle aura wrap him in tranquility. Within seconds the pleasant scent of her hair, the warmth of her body, and the steady beating of her heart had lulled him to sleep.

_Uzumaki Naruto, you are no longer alone…_

* * *

"And they could see the writing?" The elder asked in a serious voice.

"Yes." Hiashi answered smoothly. "I suspected my daughter might have inherited the _True Blood_. The Uzumaki, however, was entirely unexpected. The scroll was protected by that seal for generations. What could he possibly posses to bypass it?"

"Enough." The head elder cut him off. "It is clear we need more information before we can act. _Why_ the Uzumaki could see it is not important. All that matters was his seeing it in the first place. He will have to be dealt with accordingly. In the meantime we must focus on monitoring your daughter's progress, Hiashi."

"Very well." The Hyuuga Lord said stiffly. "It shall be done."

After he had exited the Elder Council meeting room Hiashi frowned.

'This is complicated. I cannot disobey the council, but the Rokudaime's plan binds me as well. Perhaps its time to make an offer to my nephew…'


	27. Preparing for the Worst

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Yuhi Kurenai enjoyed having company. She rarely had time for herself and a change of pace was always welcome. Most of her attention was taken up by Asuma Jr., who had recently turned four. She loved him as much as she had loved his father. She also got as frustrated with him as she had with his father. The young boy was quite a handful to keep track of 24/7.

Today, however, she was given a reprieve. 'Uncle Lee' had offered to take her son out for lunch.

She had invited several friends over. Unfortunately, none of them had been able to come.

Except one.

That particular colleague had invited himself.

"You're on time." She observed.

"Kurenai-san." He acknowledged politely. "I see you've redecorated."

"No, you just haven't been over since my son's third birthday." She corrected.

"On that particular day I wandered from the road of life to help an old lady cross a street full of black cats." Kakashi replied plainly.

"I see." Kurenai said, not believing him for a second. "Well now that we have that cleared up, would you like something to drink?"

"Just tea please."

"First you're punctual and now you're asking for tea?" She asked suspiciously. "I haven't seen you this serious since Iruka."

"The death of a comrade does tend to dampen my spirits." Kakashi said.

The genjutsu mistress returned from the kitchen with two cups of steaming tea. She sat on the opposite side of the traditional low table and sipped quietly.

"I presume you're alluding to Shikamaru-kun?" She asked.

"Yes and no." Kakashi answered.

"In other words, he is not your sole concern."

"Correct."

"A straight answer? That's rare." She commented.

"I don't really feel like playing today." Kakashi said cheerfully, his single visible eye closed in a 'U'. "But if you insist…"

"Alright, then. What's so important your being sincere?"

"Hmmm… a certain person told me that I could trust you." He said ambiguously.

"A certain person?"

"He also mentioned that we had to 'Get them out.' I don't suppose you would know what that means, do you?"

Kurenai looked away and let out a long regretful sigh.

"I knew it would come to this." She muttered.

"Ah, then you know what I'm talking about?" Kakashi inferred, drinking his tea without removing his mask.

"Yes and no." Kurenai said grimly.

"Go on."

"Shikamaru-kun once asked me to do him a favor. I've been in the loop since then. I don't know that much, but I do know that he didn't intend to be discovered so early."

"But he did intend to be discovered?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, eventually."

"So you think he could still be alive?"

"I'm not sure. It's possible he could have had a contingency plan…"

"I sense a 'but' here."

"But we can't rely on that. We have to move on our own." She finished.

"So do you know what the phrase 'Get them out' means?"

"I know _how_ to get them out. I just don't know _who_ I have to get out or why."

Kakashi smiled. "Ah, so that is why I was sent here. Shikamaru never did put his eggs in one basket…"

"You mean?"

"Yes, I know who they are."

"You do?" Kurenai asked.

"Kurenai-san, did you know the investigation has begun to turn up some evidence?" He asked, obviously avoiding her question.

"No," she sounded surprised. "No I didn't."

"Well let's just say I have my own theory." He said cryptically.

"And?"

"There was no evidence in that office. I saw it. That means they must be 'finding' evidence elsewhere."

Kurenai put the pieces together. "In other words, someone is going to have to take the fall."

"Correct."

"And that's why we have to 'get them out,' is that right?"

"I believe so."

"So who are they?"

Kakashi smiled deviously. "Why, whoever is found guilty of course."

* * *

"So that's the Capital. I never expected it to be so big."

The ANBU duo stood at the top of a ridge about a mile away from the large city. The landscape beyond them dipped into a deep valley. In the center was a massive dormant shield volcano. The Capital was built on top of it.

Hinata gave him a sidelong glance. "You've never been to the Capital before?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's kinda funny. I've been all over the continent and yet I've never been to the seat of power that keeps our village financed."

"You haven't been missing much. The Daimyo is a complete idiot. His son is even worse."

"You're talking from experience." The blonde stated.

"He was the first suitor on the list. The Daimyo wanted to make the bonds between Konoha and the Capital unbreakable."

"So what happened to him?"

"He's lucky he's still capable of having children." She said sweetly.

Naruto grinned. "I'd expect nothing less from you."

Hinata replied with a grin of her own. "Of course."

They began to make their way down a set of switchbacks carved into the side of the steep drop that led into the valley. After they had finished unloading all of their packs they had sent the majestic birds home. As they flew away it suddenly occurred to Hinata how strange their method of transportation had been. When she asked Naruto about it he explained that they were descendants of the Hawk summon family. He continued to explain how the weakest birds were expelled from the family when they were old enough to fly. They were then put under the responsibility of the master of the contract, who happened to be Danzo himself. The warlord made sure they were put to good use.

As they rounded the corner of the final switchback the sun began to set over the city. Naruto and Hinata quickened their pace to a light run and winced when they heard the clanking racket behind them. Naruto had summoned a minor toad to carry their gear. Apparently it wasn't nearly as graceful as a shinobi. On the other hand, it was plenty strong. It felt good to not be carrying a pack for once.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at the base of the volcano. The entire area was green with vegetation from the fertile soil. Orchards dotted the land just outside of the city walls.

The guardsmen took one look at their trappings and let them through the gates without question.

The Capital buzzed with activity even as darkness descended. The streets were all lit with gas lamps and business continued unhindered. Hawkers offered wares of every kind, from good luck charms, to magical demon slaying blades (which were obviously fake), to exotic foods, to toilet paper. The main drag circled around the volcano with a slight grade; a large spiral road that led to the top. The buildings were built mostly out of polished granite. Several high class establishments were carved out of obsidian. Houses tended to be built into the side of the volcano.

Naruto had expected to attract a lot of attention, but apparently nothing phased "city people." The most they got was a glance and an arched eyebrow at the toad hopping behind them.

A large castle made of white stone came into view as they neared the top of the last corner.

"Wait... how can so many people live in such a small place? I mean, I didn't see that many side streets." Naruto said.

Hinata smiled. He was so cute when he was being ignorant. "This is just the market and trade district. Most of the city's business and tourism happens out here."

"Out here?"

"The city proper is actually inside the volcano. Most of it has been tunneled out. There are several large hollow areas that contain around 100,000 square feet of space with a hundred foot ceiling."

Naruto blinked. "I thought that kind of stuff only existed in fantasy novels."

"Well, it's not as grand as I'm making it out to be." She admitted. "Anyway, our business here will only take place on the surface."

"I see." He sounded disappointed.

"I can show you around later if you like."

He perked up. "That'd be cool."

Hinata watched him walk with a bit more spring in his step and a small smile on his face.

'In some ways he's just like a little kid.' She thought fondly. 'I want to see him happy like this more often.'

It wasn't going to be easy considering the dire circumstances they had arrived under, but at least for the moment they were able to stay upbeat.

The fortifications that surrounded the castle were clearly just for show. The strategic location of the volcano itself was its real protection.

Half a dozen heavily armed guards stood at perfect attention outside of an archway that was home to a steel portcullis. A sentry that stood on top of the wall took his time letting them through. Eventually he was able to satisfy his suspicion and allowed them to be escorted into the keep. They waited in a guest room for the better part of an hour before they were summoned. A servant guided them through a maze of hallways, doors and stairs for several minutes. They stopped before an ornate double door that was guarded by another dozen guards.

They had already explained their business to the captain of the guard, so there was no trouble entering the large chamber. The servant bowed and left them just inside.

"Come, come sit and tell me of the message you bring." A high dry voice cackled.

Naruto and Hinata peered around the room and saw no one.

"Down here." The voice said.

Before them was a man who couldn't have been more than four and a half feet tall.

"_You're _the Fire Lord?"

"That'd be me." He grinned. "Come, you look like you could use some refreshment."

They followed the squat old man past the formal long table and throne and into a smaller comfy room in the back. Everything inside was miniature sized except for the silverware and food dishes.

"Now," he said, picking up a goblet of wine, "what did Hokage-dono need to tell me?"

The two ANBU shared a look.

"The Rokudaime was assassinated." Naruto said calmly.

The Fire Lord furrowed his brows. "That is a tragedy. Is another country responsible?"

"An investigation is currently underway." Hinata explained. "There is currently a delegation headed here to host a party in your honor."

"Is that so?" He said curiously. "I suppose Konoha wishes for my support?"

"That is correct." Naruto confirmed.

The old man laughed. "I would have supported you regardless. Konohagakure is this country's primary military force."

'Then why are we almost bankrupt?' The Uzumaki wanted to say.

"They will be arriving the day after tomorrow in the early afternoon." Hinata said. "Lord Danzo is staying in Konoha to maintain order. Representatives of the Nara, Aburame and Hyuuga clans will take his place along with one of Danzo's close advisers. They intend to hold the event three days from now. They sent us ahead to inform you of this so you could begin preparations.

"Hosting a party in my honor that I will make for them?" He asked with a little glint in his eye.

"You will be reimbursed when they arrive." She continued, handing him a scroll. "Here is what they have in mind."

"Interesting." He mused, stroking his gray beard. "Very well, it will be done. You may go. Your task is complete. A servant is waiting outside to guide you back to your quarter's."

"Hai." They stood, bowed and spoke in unison.

They returned to their adjoined rooms. They both decided to take a shower and change into sleeping attire. A platter of food was sent up and they ate together in mutual silence.

They split a single bottle of wine (it was the only booze available) over the course of a half an hour, sitting in comfortable armchairs and talking about the possible outcomes they'd find when they returned to Konoha. They were both pretty sure that Danzo wasn't the one behind the assassination. He was capable of it, but there was no real motive. Shikamaru had been a useful tool for him. They also discussed the significance of Sasuke's absence and came to the conclusion that it didn't really mean anything.

"I mean, he could have been out doing anything." Naruto said.

"Yeah," Hinata agreed,"and there's no way he could kill a friend."

Naruto laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Do you have any idea how many times he's tried to kill me?"

"No."

"Then you wont think it's funny." He replied, still laughing.

"Mhmmm." Hinata let it slide. "What time is it?"

"Late, that's what time it is."

"You going to bed?" She asked.

He stifled a yawn. "That's the plan."

"Can I come?" She teased. "I'll be real good, I promise."

Naruto grinned. "I'm sure you would be."

"Hentai."

"Meh, I can live with that."

"So I _can_ come?" She questioned dubiously.

Naruto got out of his chair and stretched. He walked over to her and after a few seconds of indecision, leaned over to kiss her on the top of her head.

"Slow, remember?"

"I know." Hinata said with a half-sigh.

The second night they had spent on the road was not nearly as stimulating as the first. Naruto had made it very clear that he was sleeping in his clothes with a blanket. Hinata had taken the sleeping bag for herself. She had expected it, but she had still been disappointed. She had slept so soundly for those few hours. No nightmares, no cold bedsheets, no kinks when she woke up.

Just Naruto. Warm, wonderful Naruto. The thought of it still made her face hot.

She watched him go into his own bedroom and felt a pang in her chest. Why couldn't her feelings just agree with her logical mind for once?

'I guess this is why partners aren't supposed to get involved. They end up getting distracted by their own needs instead of focusing on the needs of the village.' She thought sadly.

There was nothing she could really do about it. Things would progress at their own pace. She got into her own bed and fell soundly asleep, exhaustion finally catching up with her.


	28. Before the Storm

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

He watched her as she slept.

Few could have achieved even a so seeming simple task.

Hinata's heightened senses were such that one false move and she would wake. Of course the real trick was not waking her while he examined her hair between his fingers, the sweet smell of her easy breathing, the even rise and fall of her chest. It was sometimes difficult to remember the lethality hidden within the beauty when she looked so peaceful. Perhaps it was the serenity and well being he felt when he was around her. Even among shinobi, many felt ill at ease in her presence. On the other hand, the same could be said of him. Maybe they were meant to be after all...

'Ah, but that way of thinking is dangerous.' He reminded himself, leaning in to steal a kiss from her sweet lips.

"And exactly how long have we be playing this little game?"

The blonde startled and fell backward off the bed. It hadn't occurred to him that she had been faking.

"Only for a minute."

Hinata propped herself up against the head of the bed. Her eyes remained closed as she spoke. "I know a bad liar when I see one."

"Only when I want to be." Naruto pointed out.

"You still had no idea I was watching you."

Naruto scoffed. "Well it's only so fair when a certain someone can see better than you with their eyes closed."

"True." She admitted, slowly opening heavy lidded pools of lavender shaded silver. "But I have something nice to look at."

"What put you in such a mood?" He asked genuinely.

She pushed herself up onto her knees and beckoned him with her finger. He followed and she leaned in for a hot kiss.

"My dreams were more than provocative and less than satisfying." She said throatily.

"I would say." He brought his hands around her waist and pulled her in close, breathing in the scent of her luxurious hair.

Her right hand grasped his face and she brought him close enough to nearly taste her. "I... am going back to bed."

Naruto started to protest, but stopped. "And _you_ are coming with me."

"-mphh" She kissed him again, slower this time. Eyes wide open and looking to the door.

She gripped his hand almost painfully hard, pulling him down to the bed. Naruto put his mouth to her ear.

"How many?" He whispered.

"Three squads. Maybe more. They've dampened their chakra levels severely. Hard to tell."

"The red scroll in my back pouch. Slowly."

Hinata nodded.

The door to their rooms burst open and a near score of black garbed shinobi rushed the bed. A hail of kunai pincushioned the mattress the duo had lay on less than a half second before.

A tall man with black hair, the leader, muttered quietly. "Let's report back to Kima."

Red eyes gleamed behind his mask.

* * *

"That was too close." Naruto exhaled painfully.

Hinata removed the last shuriken from his back.

"That was reckless. Even you can't regenerate if they sever your spine. What were you thinking?"

"Y-you. I was thinking of you." The blonde actually had the decency to blush.

"Well next time," she replied, hands deliberately rough, "try a better technique than a body shield."

It could have been worse. Hinata thought, applying a salve over better than a dozen puncturing wounds that riddled her partner.

"Who were they? They wore no hitai-ate." She said after a moment.

"I don't know. But I intend to find out. Look." Naruto pulled a crumpled note out of a side pouch. "It's a message from Sasuke." He explained.

"How do you know?"

"Bastard hid the note in my ramen." Naruto chuckled at Hinata's questioning gaze. "No, no I mean in _my_ ramen."

The heiress laughed despite herself. "No one messes with your ramen? Your basing your analysis on ramen?"

"Well not entirely," he admitted," he also signed it. See?"

Hinata squinted at the note. A gesture considering her kekke genkai. "BO-HI-CA." She sounded out.

"What does it mean."

He flashed her a foxy grin. "Bend over. Here it comes again."

"What kind of code is that?"

Naruto gave an indignant snort. "The 'your in the deepest level of shit possible' kind of code."

"Well... if it works." She said, sounding rather doubtful.

"I had that emergency summon scroll ready because of it."

"If it works." She repeated.

Naruto smiled through clenched teeth. "Their mistake was not killing us the first time."

"Yeah..."

There was something about the whole business of that assualt that didn't make sense though. Hinata had only detecting them in the nick of time and who knew how long they had really been outside the door. It couldn't have been long with the amount of security in a lord's palace. It just seemed like they were missing something...

"Naruto take off your shirt again." Hinata said suddenly.

"Wha-" He started to protest.

"Just do it." Her expertly trained eyes examined his back more closely. "I knew it." She said after a few minutes of close examination.

"What?"

The Hyuuga heiress took on a lecturing tone. "The impact points for all of the shuriken and kunai. They aren't deep enough." She waggled her finger. "And not only that," she said poking at one particular wound, "but the distribution- there were certainly at least nine shinobi who rushed us. These punctures indicate that you were struck by a single thrower. Not a group. The points are roughly equadistant instead of random."

'Well, well,' Naruto thought, 'but I guess knowing anatomy is what the Hyuuga are reknowned for so...'

"So what? Now you think we have a conspiracy on our hands? Just like that?" He asked seriously, admiring her powers of deduction.

"I have no idea. All I know is that for whatever reason, whoever sent that strike didn't do it to kill us."

"So." The blonde frowned. "Not an attack but a staged one? But for what purpose? To threaten us? Warn us? Draw Konoha into war again?"

"It's impossible to say, but if I'd had to guess it wouldn't be war." Her partner could almost hear the kogs turning as she worked it out. "They wore no hitai-ate. These people... whoever they are, obviously don't want us knowing who they're working for. Besides, only killing us would start a war. And it's pretty clear their aim wasn't to kill."

"Damnit!" Naruto cried. "If only Shikamaru hadn't been murdered. He'd know what to do."

"If wishes were horses..." Hinata quoted.

"Yeah, yeah." The Anbu male got up, stretching. "Sooo."

"So?"

"What's our next move?"

"I don't know. Isn't that your decision as Name leader?"

"True. But it doesn't mean it will be the right one... I can't believe Sasuke used BOHICA..."

"Why? It saved our asses." Hinata excalimed.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "but that code is only for the worst possible scenario... like Konoha being destroyed by Pain would've been BOHICA. So whatever his warning was, I don't think it was related to the attack-"

"Wait a minute." Hinata interrupted. "What if we are going about this the wrong way."

"How?"

"What if the attack, the note and Shikamaru's murder were all connected somehow?"

"That's a big what if. Next you'll tell me the whole thing is one big conspiracy."

"Well I am Hyuuga... if the mainline were not instructed in politics we would never have gotten where we are today."

"Politics? No offense, but your father has about as much charm as a brick wall. Possibly less."

"It wasn't like that before mother died." Hinata said, with a hint of remorse.

"Right." Naruto said grimly. "But we still need a proper course of action."

"Shouldn't we just report back to Konoha ASAP?" The Hyuuga suggested.

"Ordinarily, yes." He smiled. "But if it is a consipracy, lying low for a while might be a good idea. I have some places deep in the forest where no one would find us. The only problem is at that level of isolation it would be difficult to monitor things."

"Won't we be reported as AWOL?"

"No, definitely not. We'll be marked MIA and be presumed dead after two weeks of no contact."

"Is the message really that serious?"

"Hinata... if Sasuke used that code it means at least I_ am_ in mortal danger."

"B-but that's impossible. Not even Madara could kill you."

"Right which is precisely why..." His eyes suddenly widened in alarm. "What the hell?"

Hinata turned to follow his gaze. And then there was darkness.

Naruto watched sadly as she crumpled to the floor, inert. The blow had knocked her out cold.

"Sorry Hina-chan. But you can't back me up this time."

Unaware that he was shedding tears, Naruto pulled out one of his father's kunai. He may not be a master of the technique, but combat wasn't the only thing instant teleportation could be used for.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu."

And he was gone.

* * *

Deep in the bowels of ANBU HQ Danzo smiled.

"Soon." He said to himself. "Soon I will rid Konoha of it's greatest threat..."


	29. Hurricane

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

High on the hill near the Hokage monuments stood a house. Well, not a house precisely, but a manor. A large bamboo fence encircled the manor, creating an area of perhaps a square mile. The house itself was visibly two stories, though anyone could tell you that the abode of a ninja clan would have many hidden rooms and pathways. They could also tell you that painting your fortress orange was an awful idea. Apparently someone had thought otherwise, for the Namikaze clan manor was, indeed, a brilliant orange. Or at least it had been once upon a time. Now paint peeled from the stout wood that created its frame. Boards covered the doors and windows and the front entrance was covered in heavy chains, barring entry.

Of course for a shinobi of Uchiha Sasuke's caliber there were other ways to skin the metaphorical cat. A small section of the roof had conveniently caved in, leaving a space for anyone lithe of limb. A single jump landed the Uchiha onto the roof and a second in over a decade's worth of dust.

Brushing himself off and holding back a sneeze, he found his way to the stairs. They creaked painfully beneath his feet, threatening to give if he applied to much pressure. Someone had not taken very good care of the estate, even when it had been inhabited. Still, balance was a thing innate of any good ninja and none would dispute that Konoha's Blue Hawk was anything but the best. Except for perhaps the Dark Fox, but of course, these code names were unknown to any outside of ANBU. Or at least theoretically they were. There were always spies.

Which is what precisely what Sasuke felt like right now.

'Place gives me the creeps.' He thought.

Down, down the twisting staircase. Through the hall and to the right. More stairs. Now to the back of the basement.

'He said it was somewhere around here I think…'

Moving his hands carefully over the wall he finally found the mark.

"Aha."

The wall slowly dissolved into a passageway. Sometimes genjutsu was quite practical.

After two minutes of walking the passage opened up into a large alcove. Here was stored the wealth of the dead clan. Scrolls of every sort, armors and weapons of high grade, gemstones of every color, and most importantly the kunai.

Smack dead center in the middle of the room was a pile of the three pronged menaces. Once they had struck fear into the hearts of Konoha's enemies. Now they sat neglected, slowly rusting. Except one.

A few feet away from the pile a single kunai was plunged into the solid stone. An intricate interweaving of runes and seals surrounded it. Yes this was no ordinary kunai.

'And now I wait.'

* * *

When Hyuuga Hinata regained consciousness she was aware of three things.

First, that she _had_ been unconscious. Second, her head was ringing like a door chime. And third…

"Naruto I'm going to fucking kill you!"

She was literally shaking with rage.

'That bastard! After all we've been through.' Her mind shrieked. 'Why? And where the hell did he go?'

She paced in circles, trying to stamp the anger out of her body and into the ground. She had to calm down. She had to think this through. There had to be some sort of logical explanation behind her partner's erratic behavior. She reminded herself to think back to the basics, the most base of basics. 'Ok Hinata,' she thought, ' who, what, where, when, why and how? Well the first one is easy right, _Naruto_. The what is easy too- he ditched me. It couldn't have been more than thirty minutes ago.' She could practically hear the cogs in her mind screeching with effort. 'Would he really abandon the second half of the mission... Well he did say that that code "BOHICA" meant that he was in great danger. Enough to break a perfect record?' She sat down lotus style, her mind beginning to clear. 'Yes, he must have considered the mission compromised. So where did he go?'

A thought suddenly took her and she activated her Byakugan. There were faint traces of an intricately warped chakra trail. Like the kind used in space/time altering jutsu.

'Hiraishin... is it possible?' As far as she knew Naruto was incapable of using his father's famous technique. On the other hand one became used to surprise when working with Uzumaki Naruto. 'From the direction it'd have to be Konoha.'

Now she just needed the why.

'He must have some sort of plan. He wouldn't just hurl himself half cocked into a dangerous situation... unless he didn't have a choice?'

She remembered her earlier words. Even Madara had failed to kill the nearly immortal Uzumaki.

_"I am in mortal danger."_ He had said.

"Is he just trying to protect me?" She asked herself.

That had to be it.

There was nothing for it. She had to return to Konoha and get to the bottom of this and she had to do it quickly.

'Looks like I'm going to have to use _that_ technique.'

She drew into herself and drew deep. It was extremely difficult to use the _Shainingu Sutansu_ (Shining Stance) without imminent threat to her life, but it was possible.

A minute later and the area was bathed in a brilliant light.

"_Shainingu Ryu: Sora no Aruku_!" (Shining Style: Sky Walk)

There was a loud bang as she shot into the sky like a rocket, breaking the speed of sound.

* * *

Catapulting through space at unfathomable speed is most likely detrimental to one's health.

This was the conclusion Uzumaki Naruto came to as he came to a halt in the cellar of the old Namikaze estate.

_Blech_

"Gross." Sasuke noted.

"You try traveling at the speed of light and we'll see how you feel afterwards- _blorch_!"

He heaved onto the floor again. How did his father ever get used to these side effects? Or perhaps it was just traveling great distances which resulted in extreme nausea. Either way he didn't care for it.

"So what's so important that you sent me the doomsday code?" He asked, steadying himself as he got to his feet.

Sasuke let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding.

"It's Danzo... his ROOT have finished evaluating the crime scene evidence. There's a warrant out for you arrest."

Naruto blanched. "They think _I _killed Shikamaru? That's ridiculous."

"I know, but that's what they're saying." He blew a strand of hair out of his eyes.

"There's no way they'll ever be able to act on whatever evidence they think they have."

"Naruto, I'm telling you as a friend... and you know I never tell you as a friend- leave Konoha while you still can."

The blonde chuckled. "Sasuke I'm innocent what do I have to worry about? They'll just get a Yamanaka to scan my memories. I'll be fine."

Sasuke grimaced. "Look, I'm telling you to leave. Whatever you may think, this wont end well. I know it."

An eery silence passed between the two ANBU. The cellar seemed to deepen the silence, the darkness permeating the atmosphere.

'Why is he being so insistent? Sasuke never gives a shit about shit. Could it be he knows something? Is he hiding something?'

"Just come out and say it, dobe." The Uchiha prompted.

"What aren't you telling me, teme?"

Sasuke averted his eyes. He _never _averted his eyes.

"I can't tell you. You either leave or stay. That's it."

"I can't just up and leave!" He half shouted. "Konoha is everything to me, Sasuke, you know that. I can't just betray my allegiance to something I've dedicated my entire life to protecting. Besides, I'll say it once and again: I'm innocent. So I'll ask you one more time. What aren't you telling me? I don't care what it is..."

"God, you were always an idiot, but this... look I'm telling you that things wont go well. Isn't my word enough?"

"Ordinarily yes-"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Yes but-"

"Then leave you fool before it's too late." Sasuke's eyes widened. "Oh shit."

"Before it's too late for what Sasuke?"

The Uchiha tried a different tack.

"Look you care about Hinata don't you?"

"Wha-"

"I know you do, so don't deny it. Do you want to drag her into this too? If you don't leave the damage wont just be limited to you. It will effect her as well."

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"How do you know all this?"

"Let's just say I've become involved with some dangerous elements."

"Sasuke," Naruto began, his voice hard, "You know I'm not going to leave. You know I'll never run from a fight."

"But it's not a fight! For Kami's sake dobe, what do I need to do to convince you?"

"Nothing this conversation is over."

"Naru-"

"Just give it up, Sasuke."

Sasuke turned to leave. He paused at the foot of the stairs. "Just remember that I tried to warn you. I'm sorry, but I can't help you after this."

He disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Shiranui Genma had done exceptionally well for himself in the wake of Konaha's near destruction. He had been fortunate enough to trust his savings with a credit union that was miraculously unharmed in Pain's attack. When Danzo took control he made small business loans available at reduced interest rates. Using his savings and a small loan he had been able to open his highly successful shinobi exclusive bar. Within a year he had easily paid back the money he owed and was able to take out a second loan, allowing him to expand to his current restaurant establishment. He poured the drinks steep and kept the food respectable.

In many ways he regretted giving up his life as a shinobi on the active roster. Now he was only a part of the reserve forces, though he was pretty sure he hadn't lost his touch if the village truly needed him. He made it a point never to miss his scheduled training exercises, which were a rigorous combination of strength, speed and stamina building routines. Three times a week he headed out to the old training grounds where he had once trained under his sensei as a genin.

"Your too soft boy. Those toothpicks will never be able to hurt a real opponent." His old instructor had been apt to say.

"Come off it sensei. Senbon are cool!"

"Cool is not an excuse to use a weapon. You have to get good with them first. Only then will they truly be cool."

"Sensei you sound funny whenever you try and talk like a hipster."

Kami-sama, how that had always pissed old Inra-sensei off. His half-moon sunglasses had always made him look like a beatnik. The irony was that he favored himself an epic poet. Unfortunately his vocabulary seemed to be limited to phrases involving flowers and boiled vegetables. Quite strange when Genma really thought about it. Perhaps the man just had an odd sense of humor.

'Ah, man. Those were the days.' He reminisced. 'More worried about girls than war.'

"You're thinking about something stupid aren't you?"

Hatake Kakashi sat at the bar sipping his usual sake.

"Do you always have to ruin my daydreams?"

"It's evening."

"Oh, aren't you clever." The senbon rolled to the other side of his mouth. "You gonna order some chow or what?"

"Hmmm... ramen I guess."

Genma stared. "You never order ramen."

"Let's just say I'm feeling a little nostalgic."

The final volume of Icha Icha sat idle in front of him. For some reason he just couldn't bring himself to read it.

'Taken from the notes of the author and published posthumous. It's probably not as good as the others...'

From an outsider's perspective he might have looked depressed. To Genma he just looked bored.

The retired jonin grinned. "Coming right up."

He went back to the large pot of ramen that he always kept hot during operating hours. It was his own recipe and not half bad, but he had to admit it was no Ichiraku. He ladled a hearty portion into a large bowl, humming softly as he did, enjoying his work. There were some things he really had come to love about his new life. The simplicity for example, had its own charm. Much more relaxing then having sharp metal objects hurled at you, running for your life through the middle of the night. On the other hand it was difficult to fulfill the thrill seeking part of his personality. Handling hot food just didn't provide the same adrenaline rush, not by a long shot.

"Mind if I ask-"

"Yes." Kakashi cut him off.

"Figured as much."

He took the bowl and set it down in front of who many considered to be the best operative in Konohagakure history. The masked warrior didn't so much as glance at the steaming food, casually taking his chopsticks and popping a piece of tofu into his mouth. Unlike just about every other citizen in the great city, Genma actually _had_ seen Kakashi's face. Saying the guy was good looking was as much an understatement as saying he was merely deadly instead of absolutely terrifying. Not that Genma considered him a good judge of masculine beauty, but any idiot could tell as much with just a glance of what was under the mask.

He refilled the sake glass he kept for himself under the counter, stopping to pour his old friend another without even having to ask. So far the sharingan wielder had put away five shots, but that was light drinking for Kakashi.

Yes, something was definitely off with old devil eye tonight.

"Put it on my tab tonight, Genma. I guess I'm not hungry after all."

Taking his last shot, Kakashi wiped his face off under his mask and headed for the door. The little orange book lay forgotten on the bar.

* * *

Eight exhausting hours later Hinata finally landed near the outskirts of Konoha. Well, to say she landed was perhaps too kind a word. Impact was probably more descriptive of the small crater that lay somewhere out in the middle of the great forest that surrounded the walls of the shinobi fortress. Tumbling out of control, she rolled out of the crater and into a stout tree, nearly knocking herself unconscious. She was at the outermost limits of her stamina, and standing seemed to be more than she could handle at the moment.

"Shit, I really overdid it." She said to herself, wheezing and coughing with the effort to breathe.

The glowing light around her finally began to dim and she allowed herself a moment of weakness, falling forward onto her stomach and cringing at the way it rumbled in protest. How long had it been since she'd eaten? She hadn't stopped since she had shot out of the Capital at maximum speed. Her Air Walk technique was not really true flying technique. More like an extremely high powered jump followed by emitting chakra out of the soles of her feet to maintain airspeed. Their was some wind manipulation involved, it was her secondary elemental bias, but little more than the rudimentary skills of redirecting the airflow to keep herself stable was necessary. Still the technique was exhausting. She was long past calling on the reserves of the special gear Naruto had purchased for her. She wasn't exactly sure how she wasn't dead from overuse. All she knew was that she had a terrible feeling growing in her chest, like something awful was about to happen.

A raven cawed ominously from the trees above. She nearly laughed at her Name's namesake.

Crawling on her hands and knees, she reached for her pack, which had been shredded pretty bad: the shoulder straps had been broken on with her tumble on touchdown. Inside and scattered around the forest floor were various articles of clothing, sealing scrolls, rations, weapons and medical equipment. She reached for a calorie dense nutrient bar and nearly cried in frustration when she found her hands hadn't the strength to break the tenacious plastic wrapping that protected it from exposure. Right now she only wanted to expose it to her teeth.

With that in mind she used her sparkly whites to tear open the precious ration, crunching into it savagely. For once the taste of dried grass mixed with condensed milk did not bother her. Her only concern was regaining her strength as quickly as possible. Or at least cramming in enough calories so that she could walk the rest of the way back to Konoha. She finished the first bar and tore into a second almost as fast. By the time she was one her third thousand calorie bar the taste finally began to catch up with her and she forced the last bite down with considerable effort. She then occupied herself with repairing her pack as best she could and taking in as much water as humanly possible. Her exertion had left her dehydrated more than hungry and by the time she had gone through her quart sized canteen she felt much better.

She nearly vomited from taking in so much so fast, but that would have defeated the purpose of her haste. That and it was hardly becoming to the heiress of the Hyuuga clan. She smiled at the thought.

She had lost so much of what she was since she made ANBU, since Naruto. Not that that was really a bad thing, but there were certain elements of her old self that were genuinely valuable. Knowing how to act among the upper class for one and how to intimidate the lower echelon for another. On the other hand being blood thirsty tended to take care of the latter half of that equation. She found herself half shocked at how easily she categorized herself as someone with blood thirst, but being the partner of the Kyuubi container would do that to you. It was either adapt or die when in the presence of Uzumaki Naruto and she knew some people that would prefer the second option to the first. In fact she was quite sure that most would prefer the second, or would get it anyway if they were unfortunate enough to ever provoke the monster of a man. Truly he was peerless in the shinobi world. Well so far anyway, but she didn't take his promise likely. One day she would be as strong as him, or surpass him. Only then could she truly be worthy of him.

'I will.' She promised herself for the nth time. 'I will surpass him. Then he can worry about be worthy of _me._'

Worry however, was a much more present thing in her mind and as she finally finished collecting the last of the scattered vestiges from her pack, she felt her resolve strengthen anew. Her body was weak but her spirit was strong and that strength slowly began to leech back into her muscles and tendons.

It was time for a walk.

* * *

Naruto cautiously approached his apartment, darting through the shadows with expertly practiced ease. He had waited till nightfall to leave the dungeon of the old cellar, covering the three miles between the Namikaze estate and his humble abode in a little under an hour. He had to backtrack and reroute countless times to avoid the copious patrols that trolled the village. It was at least triple the norm, which was stupid in his opinion. If they wanted to capture him then showing any outward sign of heightened alert was an obvious tip off, which doubled his suspicion that something was very wrong. He would submit himself to questioning without resistance, so why were there so many ANBU hiding in the shadows of alleys and rooftops?

His original intention had been to just walk out into the open and give himself up, but his instincts told him this was a bad idea and many a shinobi had lived or died by listening to or ignoring their gut.

"Never ignore your gut feelings, Naruto. Sometimes a hunch is just a hunch and sometimes a rumbling stomach just means your hungry for that crap you call food-"

"Ramen is the best Ero-Sennin!"

"Shut it boy, this is important. Your instincts can tell you things your other senses can't. Some people refer to this as the "sixth sense," but it's actually different. Intuition is the sum of what you know and what you think you know. The "sixth sense" is feeling what you don't know, like when you're being watched. Your gut is your body's instinct to survive boosted to its maximum. Your gut will take what you know, what you think you know _and_ what you don't know and will do its best to get your attention when things are most dangerous. It's these time my boy, when you have to be especially careful. Many a shinobi has lived or died by their gut."

So Naruto listened to his gut and resolved to find the origin of the trap before he sprung it. It was not an easy task.

By the time he got into visual range of the apartment there were virtually no blind spots in the vigil of the village guard. Calculated risks and chakra suppression managed to get him inside, but there was a fair amount of luck involved as well. He wasn't exactly sure why he had to go to the apartment either. That was his gut again, telling him something that didn't make sense, but hopefully would in a moment. What answers could possibly be at his home and not hidden deep within the bowels of ANBU HQ?

Apparently it was the door.

'This alarm... it's keyed to not just my chakra... why?' He had precious seconds to analyze it before the guards outside realized his presence. 'Oh no...'

In a rush he moved to the back of the apartment, careful not to trigger any of the invisible traps laid by expert genjutsu artists. He moved to Hinata's bedroom window, the only portal with a trap on it easy enough for him to disarm. He counted his heartbeats and tensed, reaching out with his senses, straining to find the right moment to open the window and reset the alarm before watchful eyes discovered him.

'Now!'

Swiftly and silently he moved, meticulously reattaching the severed chakra strands that armed the trap. Any jonin worth their salt would be able to detect that it had been tampered with, but hopefully they would be unable to tell who did the tampering. Unless it was a Hyuuga. Then he was shit out of luck. His chakra was pretty unique as far as the shinobi of the Leaf Village went. Still it was worth the effort, and he slipped out just as easily as he had slipped in, which was not easily at all. Of course this was the Dark Fox, so easy was a relative term. Impossible was the level of difficulty he thrived on.

He dodged his way past the patrols again and worked his way towards the part of Konoha that wasn't on as high of an alert. The shops and inns of the merchant quarter provided ample protection from prying eyes and he quickly thought of an easy way to get past the throngs of onlookers typical of the nightlife of the great city. A dark haired beauty was soon lost in the crowd and nothing short of a kekke genkai could detect that his appearance was altered. He had worked out Sexy no Jutsu to a science and he had to admit that at times, he was extremely proud of his first original technique.

For no particular reason he found himself meandering in the direction of Genma's and decided it was as good a route as any. He was so focused on acting like a regular citizen that he barely noticed when he ran into a certain silver-haired jonin who was in a hurry himself. It was with no small measure of chagrin that he found himself face to face with his old sensei.

'Of course I'd run into one of the only people who could tell it was me _without_ the aid of a jutsu.' He thought angrily.

Kakashi just stared dumbly at him, slack jawed. The idiot was just strolling through town like he didn't have a death sentence hanging over his head. No that wasn't right, nobody would be able to tell at a glance it was Sexy no Jutsu, not like he could. Still it was a bold move to be out in the open like he was. He reminded himself that sometimes the bolder the better and for an instant allowed himself to admire the cunning his student had developed over the years. Then reality snapped him back to attention. Or rather attention snapped him back to reality: he relaxed back into his usual gait.

"Follow me." He said quietly.

Naruto followed.

* * *

When Hinata saw the increased guard at the village gate something told her that simply walking up and saying "hi" was not going to cut it. The problem was she had no chakra, almost no reserves of physical strength and no tools to get her over the wall undetected. She managed to submerge her rising panic that she was too late, for what she didn't know, beneath the icy reserve her father had taught her long ago. A reserve that had kept the Main Branch alive and that was hopefully trying to keep her alive right now instead of just making her paranoid. She really wasn't sure which it was, but it was better to be safe than sorry, at least when it came to delaying herself just long enough to find a way in furtively.

She jogged the perimeter for over an hour, finally coming to the back of the Hokage monument, or rather to the back of Tsunade's head. It wasn't entirely finished yet, and the pineapple shape of Shikamaru's hair was still in the roughest of stages. A pity that he had died so early in his career, he would have made an excellent leader, given that he could have usurped power from Danzo. She had to hand it to the leader of the Ghost ROOT, he had made a brilliant move by putting his greatest enemy in the place where his actions were most visible. As a jonin Shikamaru could have used his spare time to create all kinds of problems for the de facto leader of Konoha. As Hokage, he was so busy with "paperwork and pleasantries" as her father was wont to call it, that any secretive resistance would have to be done in the subtlest and smallest of ways, minimizing the damage. Yes, Danzo in his own sick way, was a genius.

Thank Kami it wasn't his face being carved into stone and history.

She scaled the back of the Sixth's head slowly and carefully, not trusting her body to keep up with the demands she was asking of it. When she reached the top she found a squad of ANBU perched directly in front of her. If it wasn't for the fact that her chakra exhaustion and lack of intent made her invisible they would have spotted her. With an insane stroke of luck they moved off, probably to go switch with the next watch. She breathed a sigh of relief she hadn't been aware she was holding in, and moved down the scaffolding used by the building teams, quickly this time, hoping she could dodge the next patrol.

She made it to the ground just in time, the relief arriving in less than two minutes. Ordinarily there would be no "holes" in the perimeter set by the watchdogs of Konoha, but it appeared the area she was in was of the lowest priority to secure. Security had gone up fivefold after Danzo's rise to power and rightfully so. No surprise attacks for an unaware Konoha to suffer at the hands of the enemy. Once was more than enough, and twice, well, after both Orichimaru and Pain, nobody complained about guard duty anymore.

In another fifteen minutes found herself in the high rent district part of the city, the part where privileged shinobi families lived. She walked past the massive Hyuuga estate, taking extra special care that a stray pair of Byakugan didn't happen upon her. Being a Hyuuga, this was not particularly difficult, but her fatigue was catching up with her. Adrenaline could push a person past their limits, but in return the body took a toll when it wore off. Fortunately she wasn't quite at that point, but Hinata knew if she let down her heightened senses for even a moment the exhaustion would take her. She found herself wondering why she was going to all this trouble to be stealthy when she heard the sound of a toddler crying.

Staring up at her with a pare of ridiculously large red eyes was a black haired boy, obviously separated from his parents. Her better nature took over and for once she wished that deep down she didn't love children.

"There, there, little one. Are you lost? Where is your mother?" She found herself saying soothingly.

"Ka-kaa-san..." The little boy hiccuped pathetically, dissolving further into tears.

"Asuma! Asuma where are you Asu-"

Yuhi Kurenai skidded to a halt just in front of her child.

"...By the grace of Kami..." She said more to herself than anyone else, unable to believe her luck. "Hinata... quickly, there isn't much time."

"Sensei?"

"Follow me. Time is of the essence."

* * *

Danzo smiled.

"But Danzo-sama, why are you allowing them to move freely around the village? Why not just crush them now?"

"Because, you thick headed fool, _they_ are just the bait. In order to properly flush out a nest of rats one must be patient. You follow one rat and soon it leads you back to its nest. And where there is one nest there are bound to be another hundred. Rats live in colonies, and we my friend, are hunting rats." His cunning was his greatest attribute in his opinion. "Soon we will destroy them all at once. My wrath shall be swift and powerful."

"Yes, Lord." The man shuttered. Truly the man before him was terrifying. "But how do you know they are here?"

"Oh, they are here alright. They have no other possible move. In chess the most efficient way to checkmate is to force the enemy into a trap, a trap which is inescapable. To do this one must set a trap within a trap, a trap the enemy sees and thinks he can outwit. Only when it is too late do you move in and crush the opposition... did I ever tell you about the one time I played chess with the Sixth?"

"N-no my Lord."

Danzo chuckled, his eyes taking on an insane light.

"I crushed him."


	30. Betrayal

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_8 Hours Ago..._

The Hyuuga clan. The most ancient clan in the history of Konoha. It is said the foundations of the Hyuuga estate were constructed before the small village in the leaves first bore the name Konohagakure. Of all the buildings in Konoha the one's belonging to the clan Hyuuga were by far the oldest. Located near the outskirts of the great walled city, it had been spared the incredible destruction of Pain's assault. Of the structures in place within the walls the Hyuuga compound, one stood out as the largest, the grandest, the most in need of refurbishment. Yet, no Lord of the Hyuuga had ever dared proposed even the most minor of alterations to the Hall of the Council. It dated back to Hyuuga Hiama, the first Hyuuga, who bore both the highest honor and greatest disgrace of any Hyuuga to ever draw breath. His final act as the first Lord of Hyuuga had been to build the Hall of the Council, so no sovereign of the clan could ever hold absolute power.

Hiashi contemplated the wisdom of the great man's decision as he walked leisurely towards the hall, attendants in tow. Ultimately it had been Hiama's undoing, as the council had been given the power to banish him, a power that they took full advantage of after the discovery that he had been meddling in the forbidden arts. Hiama's last words had been ones of prophecy and warning and he had left behind a scroll that he claimed would hold the secrets to the future of the Hyuuga clan. A scroll that no Hyuuga had ever been able to read, because the contents of the scroll were blank. At least that was, until the previous night, when both his daughter and the Kyuubi vessel had commented on the strangeness of the writing in the scroll. The implications were beyond his understanding, and it was for this very reason he had called an emergency meeting of the Council.

He sighed inwardly. If his brief discussion with a handful of the Council members, the elders of the clan and most powerful members of the council, had been any indication, this was not a meeting that would transpire with any semblance of civility. The clamor of dissension could be heard well before his attendants opened the doors to the Hall. This was not going to be fun; not that Council meetings ever were.

As he entered the main chamber of the Hall the noise was enough to make Hiashi momentarily lose his bearings. The was remedied by the steadying hand of an attendant and the quieting of the Council as the Lord of the Hyuuga moved to take his seat at the head of the large rectangular table that was the centerpiece of the hall. A small motion of his hand silenced any remaining discourse which was marked more by the irregularity of the occasion than anything else. An emergency session had not been called since the aftermath of Pain's assault.

The outcry of one of the younger members of the council marked the beginning of the session.

"What is the meaning of this Hiashi? An emergency meeting in the middle of the night is completely unwarranted!"

The young man's ire could be easily explained from the flushed expression of another member of the council, a young female who was his wife. From the slight glow about her features it was obvious the summons had come at a spectacularly inopportune time for the young couple.

"I will let you be the judge of that in a moment, Hialo." Hiashi nodded to his attendants, and they filed out of the hall in a hurried and orderly fashion. He then gestured to a particularly ancient Hyuuga woman, the oldest member of the council, whose word was unquestionable. "Before we begin I must stress the importance of this meeting staying secret. For what we are about discuss must not be heard by ears outside the walls of the Council. Hiala?"

"It has come to the attention of the Elders of the clan that our greatest fear has come to pass. The words of Hyuuga Hiama have been realized. The first part of the prophecy has been..."

"Who?!" One of the older men of the council screeched. "Who has been able to decipher the scroll?!"  
"Hold your tongue, Hiake." Hiashi barked. "Hiala, please continue."

"I quote: 'Through darkness, ere fame, breath life pained resurrection; painted churches burn.' This is the first and most fervently debated line of Hiama's prophecy. Only due to recent events can we give any meaning to his words. The darkness of Pain's heart was lifted only by the 'heart of fire' possessed by the Kyuubi-boy. He then breathed the peoples of Konoha back to life, resurrecting them to the destruction of their village. Whether 'pained' refers to pain himself, or the sorrow he inflicted on us is uncertain, but also irrelevant. Upon further examination 'painted churches burn' most likely refers to the devastated infrastructure of Konohagakure. Many of the bonds that held the village together since its founding have been destroyed or irreversibly damaged."

"And the next line of the prophecy?" Hiashi prompted.

Hiala continued slowly. Much of her life had been dedicated to the deciphering of Hiama's prophecy. As the foremost expert on the subject, her worried carried much more weight than Hiashi's under these circumstances.

"'The herald will be recognized by the scroll." She said, this time more quietly.

"Which brings us to our next point." Hiashi anticipated the pandemonium his next words would inspire. "The scroll has recognized not one, but two individuals. My daughter, and the vessel of the Kyuubi.

And pandemonium it was. The next several minutes were marked by cries of outrage, most having to do with the implications of the Kyuubi container being able to see the markings on the scroll. The prophecy had made every indication that there would be a single herald. Inherent to Hiama's words had been the fact that this herald would be a Hyuuga. Hiashi doubted that anyone, including himself would imply that the Uzumaki was said herald, but it did unleash the demon of speculation. Why would someone not of Hyuuga blood be able to see what was on the scroll? Moreover, how did this ominous occurrence reflect on the already ominous tidings of Hiama's prophecy?

When the assembly had regained a modicum of order Hiashi spoke his thoughts. "I believe we are all in agreement that Hinata is in fact the herald of Hiama's prophecy. However, why, and for what reasons the Kyuubi-boy could see the markings... I believe these merit further discussion." Hiashi was seldom one to state the obvious, but in this case it needed to be done.

Hiala took the floor again. In all likelihood her opinion would be the one to decide the matter. "It is possible that since the Kyuubi is in fact a part of the Jubi, a being whose existence was ancient even at the forming of our world, that the vessel of the Kyuubi would be able to see the markings of the scroll. It is also possible that the Uzumaki's talents as a sage allowed him to see them. However, I think that the former is much more likely. In addition, it is highly unlikely that despite his ability to see the contents, he would be able to decipher them. I believe that he may be involved in the prophecy as one of the last lines would seem to indicate. 'And his rage would be unquenched, for the depths of her betrayal would shatter the barrier.'"

At this the second eldest of the council members, Hiane raised his voice. "But what is this betrayal and to what barrier does Hiama refer?"

Hiashi thought he knew the answer to the second of those questions, but to introduce such an apocalyptic idea would be foolishness. Unfortunately, another fool spoke for him.

Hiake, known well for his fear mongering and doom-saying, uttered the inconceivable. "It has long been known that our world exists on a parallel with another. For a generation this knowledge has become commonplace, and our technologies have allowed us to intercept certain transmissions from this world, though little more is known about it than what we can glean through these messages."

Hiake, was of course referring to what many called the "Main Land", which got its name from its apparent size, which was many times over the continent which that was home to the Shinobi nations. Many films had been pirated from the transmissions that came from this mysterious Main Land, particularly from the land known as the "West", for the purpose of entertainment. Few thought of the ramifications of polluting their world with such garbage, as it was in Hiake's view. However, none had ever ventured to speculate the impact of shattering of whatever veil it was that divided the two worlds. Never in history had any individual crossed this unseen barrier, and its destruction would would annihilate their very way of life.

"That is nothing but speculation Hiake." Hiala's tone was dire. "Nevertheless it does have merit. The Hyuuga guarded the secret of the other world for generations before any in our world knew of its existence. Hiama himself is said to have been the first to have discovered it. Some have suggested that he also knew how it worked, and that the creation of the Hyuuga clan was in fact a safeguard to its existence. There are none alive who possess the knowledge to manipulate the barrier. Yet, our clan has a history of seeing beyond what can be seen, of creating seals strong enough to bind a soul, and possessing techniques capable of repelling any known attack. It would seem that we are somehow involved in the keeping of this world, as to how, or why, I cannot fathom."

"And yet Hiama's prophecy confirms that the Hyuuga have a great role to play in the future of this world. One part of the prophecy implies that the herald will usher in a new age, another says that the herald will bring our destruction, and yet another points to the renewal of our clan's glory. If we accept Hiama's word as fact, how can these contradicting outcomes possibly coexist?" Hiashi spoke what was on the mind of every Hyuuga on the Council.

"Prophecies are vague for a reason, my Lord." Hiala offered. "The way we interpret each line of the prophecy is what holds the key to the truth. There is no doubt in my mind that each of these claims is true and will come to pass. Which brings up a line that I don't believe any of us are in disagreement of its meaning."

This line Hiashi feared more than any other. When it was uttered it took a moment for him to realize that he was the one who had said it. "And the herald will be marked by the curse of my own shame; exiled."

Haike was unable to control himself. "But to mark the successor of the clan with the Blood Seal and cast her into exile- it would mean the end of the clan."

"It would mean our destruction." Hiashi corrected solemnly. "And the only one who can cast the seal is the only one who possess the knowledge of the technique. Somehow, I will be the one to curse and banish my own daughter..."

* * *

_That same night..._

Temari stared at the untouched pack of cigarettes sitting on the desk in Shikamaru's private study.

'And to think I always scolded him for burning his life away with these stupid things... Oh Shika... if only I'd known our time together would be so short... I would have... I would have...'

Truth be told she didn't know what she would have done differently. She didn't have any regrets when it came to marrying the man she loved. Maybe the fact that she had to live away from her brothers and Sunagakure, but that was a small price to pay for everything she had gained... and everything she had lost... and gained.

Her hand strayed to her abdomen, unconsciously stroking the new life that had begun to grow there. She had planned to tell him that night. The same night he had been so brutally killed and taken from her. Now all she had left of him was the unnamed life growing within her. How ironic that he had vowed to look after his sensei's son when the bearded jonin had passed on, and now not only could he not keep that vow, but he had left his unborn child to the same fate as Asuma had his. Maybe Temari would have found some dark mirth in the correlation, but the reality of her husband's death had left her unable to feel anything except numbness. She knew that the void he had left in her heart could never be filled again, she only hoped that with the birth of his child she would be able to reclaim a part of him.  
"Penny for your thought's?"

"Oh, Kan-chan, why did this have to happen... just why?"

Under different circumstances Kankuro would have immediately jumped on her for using the old endearment, but he hadn't the heart. His sister had just lost the man she had campaigned so tirelessly to love. Their relationship wouldn't have gotten anywhere without her relentless efforts, as the deceased Rokudaime had never been known to commit to anything when he could afford not to. Despite his protestations and Gaara's, she had insisted on pursuing the only man she claimed she could ever love. It had paid off in the end, or maybe it hadn't. He would give anything to spare his sister the pain she now felt. He felt powerless in the fact there was nothing he could do to ease her sorrow. Still, he knew that just being there was the best thing he could do for her, and in that he was able to take some comfort.

"The world works in mysterious ways..." Was his lame reply. "Look sis, I know I can't begin to understand what your going through right now, but lamenting over his death isn't going to bring him back, no matter how hard you try."

"But Kan-chan, that's just it... I can't _feel_ anything. Any whenever I think about him the only emotion that I can seem to feel is anger." Now any psych-nin worth his salt would tell her that this was perfectly normal given the loss of a spouse. However, Kankuro was equipped with none of this skill set, and any advice he could give was likely to do more harm than good. It was only pure luck that he managed to say something that would be conducive to her recovery.

"Come back to Suna with me. I know Gaara has wanted to see you for awhile, and I think being back in your old stomping grounds might help you forget all this."  
Now the second part of that had been a mistake, and it was all to obvious when Temari snapped at him.

"But I don't want to forget. This was our home, Kan-chan. How can I abandon all we worked to achieve?"

"You're not abandoning him, sis. Look, I'm just saying that being with your family right now is probably the best thing. Right?"

Temari's shoulders slumped forward and she collapsed into Shikamaru's favorite chair. "I just don't know anymore, Kan-chan. I just don't know."

"Come on, it'll be like old times."

"Yeah... I guess so."

At that "Kan-chan" had an idea.

"Hey, you want to see my new puppet?" He offered. In times past Temari had no end of delight in making fun of Kankuro's first attempts at puppetry.

"I'm just not in the mood Ka-chan. Besides," she said, spying the tell tale spiky black hair protruding from the large bundle on Kankuro's back, "All your puppets look the same."

Was that a hint of the old Temari, Kankuro detected? Well it was a start.

"Like old times..." He trailed off, a small smile gracing his features.

"Ka-chan, will you sing me that song mother used to sing us? The one about how-"

This time Kankuro really did smile. A rare occurrence, but one that brought only good memories. "I know the one." He said softly. A small hand-sign made a small acoustic guitar appear in his hands. Puppet strings weren't the only strings the Suna shinobi was good at strumming.

For the first time since her husband's death, Temari began to cry. A short while later Kankuro's soft baritone soothed her to sleep. It was only then that he allowed the guilt to show on his face.

* * *

_Later the same night..._

Genma's was always busy this time of night, or morning to be exact. The time was 2:30 am, and Yuhei Kurenai sat at the back booth waiting for a rendezvous with a notorious late-comer. She had already been seated an hour and had given up on not drinking twenty minutes earlier. She had the presence of mind to not consume too much, as this meeting was of the utmost importance, but to be at Genma's and not to drink was to be suspected of some unnamed crime. So she sipped at the beginning of her third cup of sake and contemplated the enormity of the plan she was about to suggest, if the Hatake ever showed up.

"Yo Genma, some of the good stuff."

Speaking of which...

Kakashi strode over to the booth with a large container of sake in one hand, and an ero-book in the other. He didn't even acknowledge his fellow jonin as he took his seat, pouring himself a generous portion in a large cup. He quickly downed its contents and poured himself another, seemingly only interested in his drink and his book. But Kurenai knew otherwise, as sneaking out of his abode in the middle of the night usually got the sharingan wielder in more than a little trouble with his wife, who was not known as the forgiving type. Arranging childcare for her son hadn't been much easier, but the leader of the former Team Eight still had a few unpaid favors and had managed to convince a certain Inuzuka to watch a sleeping toddler.

"So..." She began the conversation quietly.

"So..." Kakashi looked up from his novel. "I presume you can only have called me here for one reason?"

"I don't think the plan you came up with will work Hatake-san."

Surprisingly the white-haired jonin offered no objection. "Yeah I didn't think it would either."

Kurenai flushed more than her drinking warranted. "Then why propose it in the first place?!"

The Hatake shrugged. "Even a bad plan is better than no plan."

"And this is the strategy of the legendary S rank soloist?"

"Hey, it's not like any good plan ever survives contact with the enemy."

"And a bad plan is even less likely to survive."

At this Kakashi snorted. "You'd be surprised. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"This is no ordinary foe we're dealing with. Danzo will have taken every precaution against something so brazen as sneaking out with an earth-tunneling technique. More than that, even if we did succeed, Naruto and Hinata would be hunted to the ends of the earth. Worse, we'd both be tried for treason and thus unable to provide any more resistance against Danzo's regime. We both know he's planning on being the next Hokage."

"Well I'm all ears if you have a plan."

At this, Kurenai's expression became pained. "I do, but I promise your not going to like it." After summarizing it as best should could, it was Kakashi's turn to be outraged.

"And you thought _my_ plan was bad?"

"It will be the last thing Danzo expects and will leave us open to further action. Besides, a certain contact has made himself known to me. He says if we go through with the plan he will take care of the rest."

"Did you know this person?"

"No, he was wearing a mask, I don't think I've ever met him before."

"Its not much of a plan... How do you know you can trust this person?"

Kurenai pulled something out from one of her pouches and set it down on the table.

"He said you would know what it means."

Kakashi stared at the object for a long time before finally reaching forward and depositing it into his pocket.

"We go forward with the plan." He said quietly.

As he left Genma's his fingers ran along the cool contours of the wooden rook in his pocket.

* * *

_Early the next morning..._

Danzo sat in the recesses of his office at ANBU HQ and listened to the latest string of reports.

"Lastly, it appears somebody broke into Orochimaru's old lab-"

Lulled by the rest of the routine reports, Danzo startled at this last bit of news.

"The old lab? But it was stripped down to nothing, sealed off, destroyed."

"It appears someone tunneled their way into one of the deepest caverns of the lab. One that was not destroyed by ANBU."

If the shinobi who had been command of the operation was still alive, Danzo would have had his head for this.

"So... it appears someone has been troubling themselves with something they didn't want me to know about... but what?"

"Well, whatever equipment they might have used was either destroyed or removed. Though our agents did manage to recover trace amounts of DNA from some dried fluid on the floor."

"Interesting... impossible to say what this fluid was used for?"

"Unfortunately, my Lord."

"I see."

The ANBU relaxed. "I hear you have been nominated by the village elders to be the next Hokage?"

"It is the truth." Danzo said easily, scratching his chin. "Though I'm not sure I will accept."

"My Lord."

"Too much work." The aged war hawk grunted.

"Of course, my Lord. If that will be all?"

Danzo nodded absently, secretly pleased with his performance. Of course he would accept, but tipping his hand, even the smallest tidbit of information could be used against him. He had learned this the hard way on many occasions in his youth. He smiled inwardly at the fruition of his careful planning. Picking Shikamaru as the next Hokage had been a stroke of genius in his opinion. Danzo took stock in the phrase "keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer." Shikmaru was by far the most strategically and tactically brilliant shinobi in Konoha, and made no attempts at showing Danzo even the faintest hint of approval. By maneuvering him into the role of Hokage he had made him extremely easy to watch and monitor. In addition the endless paperwork of the position had left the poor shadow-user little time to dedicate any action against his regime. To top it off, the village knew who really pulled the strings, and so Danzo lost little power by giving the position to someone other than himself. Yes, things were going perfectly in his view.

"Danzo."

This time he nearly jumped out of his seat. "Who's there?"

A masked figure slunk out of the shadows, red eyes gleaming behind the mask.

"I've come to tell you one and only one thing, Danzo. There will be reckoning and you will be made to pay for your crimes against this village."

Before he could even raise the alarm the figure was gone again.

Pay for his crimes? Ridiculous. He nearly laughed. Soon his grip over Konoha would be unbreakable and he would lead the village to glory such as it had never known.

* * *

_At the same time..._

Hyuuga Neji was content with his life for the most part. He was engaged to a beautiful woman who was an heir to an armament enterprise. He was renowned as a prodigy even among his fellow clan-mates. He enjoyed his work as a shinobi and was quite good at it if he did say-so himself; he did. He was up for consideration to become a registered team leader among the jonin of Konoha, and the academy was going to lengths unseemly to get him to teach or take on a genin team. Yes, things were good, but not perfect, and Hyuuga Neji was to put it mildly a perfectionist. It was what had made him so prominent when he was a genin. He worked hard, despite what he said, to make sure every angle of every move was precise. In the Gentle Fist Style, precision was everything and everything relied on precision. So Neji did his best to live up to his perfectionist drives and when he fell short of his goals... well it looked a little something like this...

"Oh, for Kami's sake!" He exclaimed under his breath.

Sweat poured off of him. This was odd considering he had been doing nothing but sitting in lotus position for the past three hours. He had done this same exercise once a day starting immediately after he had witnessed Hinata hold her own against the legendary container of the eight-tailed beast, Kirabi. The technique she had produced had been one of unparalleled power, as far as Neji knew there was no jutsu in the Hyuuga clan that resembled anything like it. However, it was obvious that the technique had been derived from the teachings of the Gentle Fist. It was like a distant cousin, the eight foot tall distant cousin that pounded you at fisticuffs every family reunion. Neji had always been stronger than Hinata, always, so how had she exceeded him? Was the Main Branch's blood truly stronger? Or was there some deeper mystery behind her sudden growth. Whatever it was he wanted it, and he was no closer to achieving it than he had been the first day his training ended in utter failure.

'I do not understand it.' He thought morosely. 'Is the technique something beyond the bloodline? Something unique only to her? Or is it just that her latent abilities are greater than mine? I cannot accept that. I've worked my entire my life to distinguish myself in the eyes of the Clan and Konoha. There must be some secret to drawing on that power. Perhaps Hiashi would know... or maybe in my father's journals I can find some sort of reference. I could always just ask her.' He grimaced at the thought. 'Over my dead body will I submit myself to her scrutiny. Her heart has turned cruel in recent years. Moreover, well... there is my pride. Naruto may have helped kicked some of that nonsense out of me, but Kami be damned if I didn't retain some of the Hyuuga nobility.'

In a moment of clarity he realized his thoughts were distracting from his meditation. He would make no more progress if he continued to dwell on things he could not change.

He smiled at his lack of discipline and once more found his center, digging deep within himself, searching for the power that would return things to the status quo.

A light flickered deep within his heart. Though his eyes were closed he could tell something was different. He dared to open them and saw a brief glimmer of white. Excitement roared through him. Finally some progress! Now he only needed to pinpoint what had allowed him to access this new power. Everything came in steps and he had just taken the first and hardest on the road to perfection. Such was his elation that he barely noticed a certain long haired man in white robes approach through the clearing Neji favored for his training.

"Hiashi-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He heard himself saying.

The Lord of Hyuuga was stony faced as ever. However, Neji noticed there was a slight sheen to his skin. Hiashi was nervous about something and Hiashi was never nervous. Unless of course...

"Of course you know why I'm here." Hiashi began. "It's time."

Neji's eyes widened in surprise. "Now? It's too soon. We haven't had time to prepare."

"Be that as it may things have been set into motion. We must be ready to act quickly. It's just a matter of time before Danzo catches on to what we're planning. If he is in any way aware of this scheme all will be for not. We must make sure we are ready on our end. Up until now there has been a margin for error. Now we must be steadfast in our dedication to perfection. Can I rely on you Neji-san?"

"Of course... but what about Tenten? What will I do if I-"

"No time for that." Hiashi chastised him abruptly. "We need to go. Now."

Neji sighed inwardly. And he had been so close to a major breakthrough...

* * *

_The present..._

Naruto continued to pace in circles, wearing the tatami into a state of disrepair that even Kakashi would have to notice. He was holed up in a secret room below the ANBU Captain's house, as he had been for the past two hours. No one to see him, no one to tell him what was going on. Just an abrupt "come with me" and suddenly he was in the dark both metaphorically and literally. His mind was working overtime to come up with some sort of explanation for all of the strange happenings around Shikamaru's death, the attack on himself and Hinata, and the sudden note from Sasuke. Then there was the matter of Danzo tripling Konoha's security, apparently all for his benefit. Did they really have something on him? He knew he was in no way involved in Shikamaru's death, so what was Sasuke so worried about? He wouldn't have confronted him if he didn't think the Uchiha was hiding something. There was something fishy about the entire situation and it wasn't the sushi Kakashi had so kindly offered him when they first reached his not so humble abode.

"What the hell is going on Sensei?"

"No time now. I have to go see to some things. Stay put and wait for me to come back. I'll fill you in then."

The trapdoor creaked open, illuminating the cavernous room with a faint light. A figure climbed down the small ladder, hopping the last few rungs and landing softly.

"Hinata?" Naruto half-shouted. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you'd still be in the Capital."

Were it not so dim he would have seen the dark flush about her cheeks. She was not happy, and it wasn't just the fact that she had been following Kurenai through the shadows for the past hour, backtracking more times then she could count to throw off any tail they might have picked up. The first part of that encounter had included her hiding in an empty sake barrel so Kurenai could drop her kid off. Needless to say, Hinata was not in a good mood, and she was going to give him a piece of her mind and if he didn't like it... well he wasn't supposed to like it.

"I ought to send you through the wall for leaving me behind like that. Hasn't our time together taught you anything?"

"Sure. You use your eyes to watch me change and you get snappy whenever I bring up your cooking or your Clan."

She nearly did put him through the wall.

"Damnit, Naruto, I'm serious. If Kurenai hadn't told me to go easy on you-"

"Wait, you were with Kurenai?"

"Yes, she picked me up off the street but-"

"Kakashi did the same with me."

In a moment of comic mimicry they both said at the same time: "What in Kami's name is going on?"

Naruto shook his head. "We have to stop doing that. It sounds like we're married."

"What did I tell you about suffering a bad marriage?"

"You'd die first." He answered smartly. "Look I know your pissed. But now isn't the time. Kakashi told me something big is going down. Somehow we've been caught in the middle of whatever it is. I'm not sure how your involved, but Sasuke told me I'm suspect in the case surrounding Shikamaru's death."

"That's preposterous. You were with me when he was attacked." Hinata answered quickly.

"Yes, but I'm sure a little detail like that wont matter if Danzo has a trick up his sleeve, which I'm sure he does."

Hinata considered. "Nobody else knew where we were. We were some of the last to arrive that night. Technically speaking I couldn't provide a strong alibi because there were no other witnesses... Which would mean Danzo could try you and then convict me as accessory to murder." Naruto nodded slowly, clearly struggling with the concept. "Studying law is crucial to being a successful clan leader." She explained. "My formal education all took place before I entered the academy. In the Hyuuga, leaders are born to rule sovereign. That our clan lays within the band of a greater allegiance only adds majesty to might."

"That sounds like a quote."

"It is a quote. Hyuuga Hiama, the First Hyuuga. At the conclusion of the First Ninja War that resulted in the formation of Konoha."

"The points still stands." Naruto said, getting back to the matter at hand. "That they have to have reasonable suspicion to try me in public. That is the policy right?"

"Right."

"So they can't convict me right? What evidence do they have?"

Hinata harrumphed. "It doesn't matter, Danzo can create a three ring circus out of some cigarette smoke and a couple of pocket mirrors. You've always known he was dangerous. Don't you remember what happened to Iruka?"

"Of course I do." He snapped.

"Executed on grounds of being a traitor? Sound familiar?"

"They never publicly announced what he was guilty of." Naruto recalled.

"Exactly." Hinata elaborated. "He doesn't need to have a reason Naruto."

"The city would riot if I was executed. Not a single one of them doesn't respect me for what I did for the village..."

"You have to remember that substantial part of the civilian population still fear you."

"And the line between respect and fear blurs all to easily among even our ranks." Naruto agreed, tapping his headband.

"I still don't see how he could afford to make such a costly move. " Hinata admitted. "Executing Iruka had the entire shinobi community up in arms and he was greatly loved among many of the villagers. This is a bit different though. Danzo has always been a cunning strategist. Tactically he'd be removing Konoha's greatest weapon-"

"And defense." Naruto interjected.

"And defense. On top of that your the last of the Namikaze line. Killing you would be more than ending a bloodline. It would be ending a history; an era. It's just..."

"_Impossible_..." Realization struck him like a thunderbolt. "Hinata, its not me their after-"

The door burst open from above.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata, you are under arrest under suspicion of treason."

Hatake Kakashi and Yuhi Kurenai stood before them, backed by more than three dozen ANBU.

A trap within a trap.


	31. The Demon Within

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Yamanaka Ino was considered to be the one of single greatest intelligence agents ever to walk through the camouflaged rock wall the made up the concealed doors to ANBU HQ. Falling just short of her father in ability, her potential for growth was still massive and some believed her to be a prodigy on the level of Yamanaka Inui the third son of the clans founder, said to have been capable of sending an entire citadel into chaos in the blink of an eye. His mind manipulation had been peerless. For the comparison she had always been proud, except on this day.

Today was the day she wished she had never stepped foot in the Academy. Today was the day she wished she had never been talented, never made Chuunin, never made Jonin, never made ANBU, never made ROOT, never made GHOST.

"_We are but ghosts, our existence mysterious even in its contemplation. Those who are visible be intentionally so. The rest must be phantoms, the merest suggestion of a breeze shall be tolerated not even on a windy day. More elusive than a nighttime shadow, those who exist never existed among our ranks."_

So went a young Danzo's quote at the original formation of GHOST ROOT, an organization of less than two dozen individuals known only to Danzo himself.

'Well I'm about to be visible alright. And its no coincidence he chose me.'

Being down in the Intelligence Sector usually had little to do with intelligence and more to do with talent as far being a kunoichi went. Ino considered herself well equipped to use every weapon at her disposal, be it ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu or persuasion and misdirection. She had literally _mind fucked_ dozens of commanders to work her way up the chain. She had ruthlessly made several degenerate assholes go slowly insane until they went on a suicide mission just to end it all. She reported directly to Danzo second only to half a dozen fully fledged Section Commanders.

Yes, Yamanaka Ino had come far in life since those days back at the academy. She had a comfortable position, great wages, even incredible dental and medical insurance, and boy was that hard to come by when you weren't on the in and in. 'Or mentally on the up and down... I mean up and up.' She giggled at the thought.

The best part was that in everybody else's mind she was just some half witted blond bimbo who giggled a lot and that fucked everything that walked. The fortunate truth was that she had but a single lover, a man she was deeply in love with, but who infuriated her to no bounds with his eating habits. She didn't have to use quite as much talent with him. It was nicer that way. He was in on her dirty little secret and found it disturbing but humorous.

She recalled latest in a string of complaints he had about her tactics.

"But Choji, it's just rapid advancement."

"I still think it is morally wrong."

"Why's that sweet cheeks?"

He puffed up at his favorite nickname. "You are using men in a fashion that is unacceptable." He half groaned in frustration half chastised. "Moreover whenever I talk to you I always end up agreeing to whatever you say." He noted dourly. "But most importantly since your not taking S ranks anymore your wages have been much lower than usual and you see the potato chips are dangerously low..."

He let his plea echo deep into the empty recesses of where Yamanaka Ino would have cared. "Choji are you fucking serious? Your hitting me up for money I don't have because you cant get off your lazy ass and run a couple of A ranks commanding a three man team? You couldn't be ANBU, you _had_ to continue in the honorable tradition of your clan and maintain a position the equivalent of a sergeant in the mainland armies. Well good luck bringing home any potato chips if you don't allow me to do as I see fit! Let me follow my dreams just like I finally gave up and let you follow yours. If you don't, then I'll be damned if you're going to see a single potato chip after I advance myself to a better position with better pay." Choji's stomach groaned audibly. "Think of it this way sweet cheeks: you let me bring home the bacon, I get to cook the bacon, you get to eat the bacon." She finished sweetly.

"B-b-b-b-b-acoooon?" Choji's eyes were as big as saucers. There was only one thing in the world better than chips and sweets and that was meat. Beyond the sausage, sirloin, ribs, and fried food was the godly substance known only in this holy language as bacon. Such goodness was only to be found by the best butcher in town, a personal friend of Choji's. He gave him greatly reduced rates because of clan agreements, but the amount he consumed still made it like feeding five people; lucky it wasn't twenty five.

'Well I'm bringing home the bacon now alright.' She thought smugly. She gave a jaunty wave as she passed the captain of the prison unit. The man was a total creep and the things she permitted him mentally wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell even if Choji got down on his knees and begged. At the very least she had turned him into another valuable asset. She now had free reign to go and interrogate prisoners at her will. Unfortunately this was anything but a willful assignment. She had just been tasked with mind bending the most dangerous shinobi of the century and knowing what she knew, she was not looking forward to waltzing into Kyuubi central half cocked. Or even full cocked.

Yes, today was the day Yamanaka Ino was to conduct the interrogation of one Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

A lot of shitty things had happened in Naruto's life. Being stuck with the Kyuubi for starters. Being orphaned, denied help, ostracized by the villagers day in and day out. Having to fight his way into the academy. Being duped by Mizuki and learning exactly why everyone hated him. Sasuke's betrayal and his failure to bring him back, at least the first time. The death of Jiraiya and his late arrival to prevent the massive destruction wrought by Pain. Brushing with death countless times, being denied love in the romantic sense because of what he was. Having many of his rights stripped from him after Danzo came into power. The village's slow return to its old way of thinking about him. Being assigned a truly troublesome partner who seemed to take no end of delight in constantly taunting him mentally and sexually. Yeah, his life was by and large one big disappointment after another.

Yet, being betrayed by his sensei, one of the few men who warranted his trust, had to be the single worst thing he could ever imagine happening him. He was beyond rage, left with only the numbness of shock at Kakashi's actions. To top it all off, Hinata was now involved in something he knew she had nothing to do with. Not that he had any business in the Rokudaime's assassination. The reality of the situation slowly began to sink in as he was led deeper and deeper into the bowels of ANBU HQ. He was escorted by over a dozen top notch ANBU. He had no doubts that he could easily kill them all and made good his escape, but with Hinata in the mix, there was much more than just his own life at risk. He would have to act carefully if he had any chance of rectifying the situation.

His escort led him to the lowest levels of HQ, and guided him into a dimly lit room; he assumed an interrogation chamber. With little to do but sit back and contemplate what the next few hours would hold for him, he found his thoughts straying to Iruka. The man had been the closest thing to a father he ever had, and if it was the last thing he did, he would find out why he was executed. His execution had been carried out in the same manner as all the other supposed traitors of the village: a bloodless death, a single stroke to the heart from a masked med-nin ANBU. No chance for honor in death, only disgrace. He remembered the expression on his first teacher's face just before the he died. Quiet acceptance, no rage at the injustice of what was being done to him. Naruto wondered if that was to be his fate.

Some time later the door to his chamber opened to reveal Danzo, followed by Yamato, Sai, and Ino. Even if he could have escaped Naruto was loath to have the blood of any Konoha shinobi on his hands, particularly that of his friends. He made a solemn oath that no matter what happened, he would not be responsible for the death of a loyal shinobi of Konoha, no matter how in the wrong they were. Well, perhaps for Danzo he would have made an exception, but that would have gained him nothing in his current dilemma.

"So we have you at last." Danzo said with great satisfaction.

"You and I both know this is pointless Danzo. I had nothing to do with Shikamaru's murder."

"Is that so?" Danzo challenged. "Tell me Uzumaki... how does a kage bunshin know it's a bunshin?"

Naruto had absolutely no idea what the old codger was getting at, but there was no harm in humoring him for the moment.

"The moment I cast the jutsu the clone knows it's a clone." He said honestly.

"And are there any circumstances under which it might not know what it is?"

"It's impossible. Unless it was cast while I wasn't in control of my own mind."

"Hmmm... that would seem to make sense. Sai, will you do the honors?"

The lithe youth made his way over to the wall and activated a seal which revealed a door to a much smaller room, no bigger than a glorified closest.

"No... it can't be..." The word's choked out of Naruto's mouth.

"Oh, but it _can_." Danzo implied.

In a flash Yamato plunged his wakazashi through Naruto's chest.

_POOF!_

In an iron restraining chair, held down by dozens of chains littered with explosive tags set to go off at even the slightest hint of movement, sat Uzumaki Naruto

* * *

Uchiha Sakura nee Haruno had scarcely slept in the last two days. Surprisingly this had little to do with the death of her friend and former Rokudaime, Shikamaru, though it did weigh heavily on her mind. No, it was the fact that she hadn't seen her errant husband in a little over forty-eight hours. They had a specific agreement regarding things like this. In the shinobi world death could come at any time and Sakura and Sasuke had agreed that they would always inform each other before they went out on a mission, any mission, that would take them away from the village. Sasuke had violated this agreement for the first time in the history of their marriage and Sakura was torn between anger and worry.

For her part Sakura was wholly pleased with her marriage. It hadn't been easy, especially at the start, when the former missing-nin had returned to the village hailed as a hero. It had been exceedingly difficult for her to accept him back into her heart. The pain he had caused the members of Team Seven was not something that faded away so easily. His betrayal of the village, his conviction to take revenge on Konoha, not to mention his avenger mindset had made his transition back into regular shinobi life a rocky road. Getting him into the ranks of ANBU had seemed the best course at the time. It was a place where he could channel his self-hatred and take it out on others for the good of the village. Kakashi-sensei had considered his tutelage of Sasuke in the ANBU ranks his final attempt to redeem the tortured youth. Somehow he had managed to recover a portion of Sasuke's humanity and bring him back around to cultivating a will of fire. Sasuke's dedication to the village became evident as he took increasingly more difficult and important missions.

After several months of this, a conversation with the Hatake finally convinced Sakura to give her former teammate one more chance to make amends. Her first attempt at this had failed miserably. She had tried to bury the hatchet shortly after Sasuke's return to the village. He had been completely unreceptive at the time, and this only furthered Sakura's belief that he had gone beyond the point of forgiveness. However, she knew her old sensei well enough that he wouldn't take a subject like Sasuke's status lightly, so she battled against her reservations and managed to build up the courage to ask Sasuke out to a night on the town. Naturally, given his introverted nature, the Uchiha had been reluctant to agree, but Kakashi had warned him that he would probably only get one shot to redeem himself in the eyes of the pink-haired kunoichi, so he had ended up agreeing with considerably less badgering than Sakura had anticipated.

It was really for Naruto's sake that she had decided to go through with the whole ordeal. The blonde shinobi had been the first to forgive Sasuke, despite everything he had been put through on his behalf. Sai had also forgiven him rather easily, but this was understandable given his emotional detachment. His acceptance had come in the form of an ink rendering that was currently pinned up in her residence, a picture of the original Team Seven with the words "welcome back" penned in the corner. Kakashi had, to her knowledge, never completely forgiven Sasuke. The Hatake's motto of putting comrades above any other commitment seemed to make this impossible. However, the same sentiment prevented him from abandoning his former student, and so he had made every effort to reclaim the small part of Sasuke's soul that hadn't been corrupted.

The night of their outing finally came, and Sakura had a difficult time accepting that she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. They hadn't done anything particularly memorable, but for the first time, Sasuke had let her into his world, telling her the reasons behind his decisions, and ultimately revealing the staggering amount of guilt he carried concerning his actions. It seemed to her that Sasuke had already seen more than enough suffering, even if it was self-inflicted. With this in mind, the med-nin found a grudging respect for him. That respect grew as he continued to spend time with her and share his thoughts and feelings. She recalled the night she had asked him why he was sharing himself with her. His reply had been somewhere along the lines of, "I don't really have anyone else to talk to." The backhanded compliment had made her both happy and sad, and she found herself doing some serious soul-searching as to why she was continuing to lend him her ear.

She convinced herself that was a healer, she was just doing her duty to restore the well being of someone who was becoming an increasingly large asset to the village. Then came the day when Sasuke had returned from an S rank terribly wounded and near death. The mission had something to do with wiping out the last remnants of the sound shinobi, who had been conducting raids on caravans carrying crucial supplies to the still recovering Konoha. Kakashi had been in charge of the dozen ANBU assigned to the mission, and had revealed that the sound-nin had been well prepared for retaliation and managed to prepare a trap that had caught his team completely off-guard. In his own words he described how Sasuke alone had manged to avoid being ensnared, and could have easily abandoned his comrades to having their chakra drained by the massive barrier the sound shinobi had managed to erect around his team. The enemy had numbered near a hundred, and Sasuke fought till his last breath, severely over using his sharingan to fend them off until he was able to steal a moment to free his team using his ametarasu.

Unfortunately, by this time his fellow Konoha shinobi had been almost entirely depleted of chakra. With the enemy still outnumbering them six to one, the outcome had looked grim. It was at that point that Kakashi decided a retreat was in order, but the enemy had cut off any means of escape. Sasuke, already near his limit, used the last of his chakra to clear a path for his comrades by means of a chidori large enough to incinerate five men abreast. The rest of the team managed to escape, but Sasuke, completely spent, was unable to flee. His last words had been that he would only slow them down, and if they managed to get caught again they would all perish. Kakashi had been forced to go against his nindo, but swore he would return.

Sasuke spent a week enduring torture only those trained by the Sanin Orochimaru knew how to inflict. When Kakashi's team finally managed to regroup and track down the remaining sound-nin, they didn't leave a single one alive. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt had not been executed quickly enough to save Sasuke from the hands of his captors, something that was evident the moment he arrived at the hospital with a fist sized hole through his abdomen. The two medics on Kakashi's team had managed to keep him in a stasis jutsu and stopped him from hemorrhaging to death before he could receive the aid he needed. Sakura and Shizune had worked tirelessly to save him, and by some small miracle their efforts were not in vain.

As he sat recovering in the ICU, Sakura came to terms with the fact that the Uchiha had indeed changed. His sacrifice couldn't be described as anything other than heroic, near suicidal commitment to his comrades and his village, and all her reservations about him quickly faded into the distance. When he was released from the hospital, Sakura finally told him that she had forgiven him for everything. Then he had smiled at her, the first real smile she had ever seen him produce. The effect it had on her was more than she would care to admit at first, but she soon came to terms with her feelings; she wanted him to be happy. A romantic relationship was still out of the question in her mind. Her mindless crush on him in her younger days was not a mistake that she cared to repeat.

Yet, as more time passed, she began to realize that restoring his happiness was not enough for her. Feelings stirred in her heart, and several months later when Sasuke went MIA for two weeks, Sakura became consumed with worry that she would never see him again. Upon his return she was incensed to learn that he had never been in any real danger. He and Kakashi had spent the time staying below the radar until they could secure passage back from the Land of Spring, formerly the Land of Snow. That was the duo's last mission together, Sasuke's time as an apprentice was over.

In celebration, the original Team Seven went out to Genma's, where they all got thoroughly wasted. They spent their time reminiscing about the good old days, and Sakura took a serious blow to her ego as Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi each took turns to tease her relentlessly about how useless she had been back then. This led to Naruto making fun of her ridiculous infatuation with Sasuke. To everyone's great surprise, Sasuke actually thanked Sakura for her dedication to him.

When the party broke up Sasuke had insisted on walking her home. On the way back he took her on a detour to the last place they had spoken to each other as teammates before his betrayal. Sakura vividly remembered the night when she had offered to follow him away from the village. They stood in nearly the exact spot where he had rendered her unconscious and left her on that bench those many years ago.

_"Back then..." He had said hesitantly, "when I said "thank you," I really did mean it."_

_"I don't understand." She had said._

_"What I had meant was: thanks to you, I know I will always have something to come back to."_

_At that moment she had been unable to hold back her tears. He had kissed her softly then, and her tears began to ebb._

_He pulled back from her and could see the question in her eyes._

_"Seeing you cry... it's just too annoying for me to bear."_

Their relationship progressed quickly after that night. Sasuke hadn't really meant for the kiss to be the herald of anything romantic. He explained later that after all the time she had spent chasing him he felt he at least owed her one kiss. He felt he wasn't ready for any kind of romantic involvement. He still had too many inner demons that needed to be put to rest. However, Sakura would have none of this, and came at him with a determination he was unable to resist. In the end he succumbed to her tireless advances under the pretense that it was his duty to restore his clan. A year later he used the same pretense that he couldn't possibly accomplish this goal unless the woman who would produce the next generation of his clan bore the name "Uchiha." They were married less than a week later and the rest was history.

Her reflections were brought to a halt by the sound of the door to the flat being unlocked.

Sasuke appeared through the doorway.

"Ra-chan sorry about-"

She cut him off, throwing her arms around him, capturing his lips in a bruising kiss. He was then punched clear across the living room and tumbled ungracefully into the wall. His vision blurred from the aftermath of the blow to his head, and he barely managed to get to a sitting position before she was on him again. She kissed him with a passion, denying him the chance to recover the breath that had been knocked out of him. When he started to make choking sounds she released him briefly, only to assault him again the moment his face lost its bluish hue. Sasuke returned her embrace in kind, this time losing himself in the sensation of her tongue tangling with his own. After several minutes of this he remembered that he had come for a reason other then getting his brains fucked out, and reluctantly pushed her out of his lap.

"We need to talk." He said, still trying to catch his breath.

"You violated our agreement." Was her reply.

Despite her attentions, it was clear that she was not going to forgive him so easily.

"There was a reason for that."

"And it better be a good one."

"Hn." He stood then, putting distance between them to indicate he was about to bring up something serious. "You've heard by now what's happened to Naruto?"

"I know that he's suspected of murdering Shikamaru, but there's no way that baka could be involved in something like that."

Sasuke cringed. "Don't be so sure."

Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you know?"

At length Sasuke began to explain the situation in its entirety. By the time he was finished Sakura was furious.

"How could you possibly let this happen to him? I won't stand for this! After all you've put him through, you went and betrayed him in the worst possible way. I... I thought you had changed after all this time, but in the end your just as despicable as Danzo! How could you agree to do this to him?! Do you have any idea of the consequences?! You've killed him, Sasuke, you've _killed_ him!"

He bore her tirade without flinching. "It was necessary, for the good of the village."

"The good of the-" Her words failed her. No words could express her outrage at her husband's actions.

"I promise you that this isn't the end for him." Sasuke said quietly.

"But if what you told me is true..."

"It's going to work out in the end."

"But to _what_ end?!" She nearly screamed. "I'm putting a stop to this right now!"

Sasuke shook his head. "It's already too late for that. Naruto is now in Danzo's custody."

Sakura slumped to the floor in defeat, her hands clenched in fists that wouldn't stop shaking.

"And what about Hinata?" She whispered, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Well, if it all goes according to the _plan_..."

* * *

Hinata shook her head in disbelief. "I'm being released?"

The ANBU behind the mask made no indication except to gesture at the open door of her cell.

Slowly, the Hyuuga heiress got to her feet. "And Naruto?"

As she expected, her only answer was silence.

* * *

The events of that last two days that his clone experienced rushed back to him. It seemed almost impossible that it was able to do half of what it had done. Sustaining injuries, casting the Hiraishen, but somehow it had done it... which meant it was no ordinary kage bunshin. The only thing capable of doing what it had done was a clone made with the Kyuubi's chakra. He still had no idea why he had been locked up here for the past two days, but he gathered the clone had something to do with it.

"My clone may have been impressed by this display," Naruto tilted his chin to indicate where the bunshin had just been dispelled, "but I'm not. I don't know what your scheming Danzo, but there's no way anyone in the village, let alone council, is going to believe for a second that I was involved in all this. You might as well release me."

The corner of Danzo's mouth curled into a sneer. "Your naivete knows no bounds." His gaze shifted over to Ino. "Yamanaka, you may proceed."

Ino had tried to prepare herself mentally for this moment. She knew that any inaction on her part would be pointless. Danzo had other methods of getting what he wanted, all of them significantly more unpleasant than what she had been asked to do. Steeling herself against her conflicted emotions, she slowly closed the distance between herself and the bound blonde. She chanced a final appeal, looking at Danzo with eyes that made her plea clear despite the lack of words.

Danzo would not relent. "Do it."

She took a deep breath to calm herself, her hands carefully working the seals for the proper jutsu. She completed the complex set of hand motions, and purposefully reached forward with her right hand until her palm rested on Naruto's forehead. A white glow began to emanate from the point of contact. She relaxed her mind as the room began to dissolve around her. She knew the risks of the jutsu she was performing, which was dangerous even when used on a normal human. Being a GHOST, she was privy to the information that Naruto was in no uncertain terms outside the norm, which made the risks of using her technique beyond what would ordinary be acceptable. However, this situation was also beyond the ordinary, and as her mind began to slip into Naruto's, her last thought was that at the very least she could take some comfort in the fact that this was the best way to go about accomplishing her secret goal.

Yamanaka Ino was going to prove Uzumaki Naruto's innocence.

* * *

_'Where... where am I?'_

_Ino was surrounded by darkness. In all her experiences in using her clan jutsu she had never encountered anything like this._

_'That's right, I performed the Shinnyuu Maindo no jutsu.' (Mind Penetration/Invasion Technique)_

_Her consciousness was afloat in the vault Naruto's mind._

_'Somewhere in here, I will find the answers.'_

_Focusing her efforts she managed to find her way into Naruto's memories, even those he had suppressed. After spending what felt like hours, but was in reality only a few seconds, she managed to comb through all of his recent memories. What she found, or rather what she didn't find, puzzled her._

_'He has no memories of attacking Shikamaru, that's for sure, but something isn't right. For some period of time... it's as if he has no memories at all. How is this possible? Even if he was brainwashed his subconscious would leave behind traces of manipulation... how could something like this happen? Maybe...'_

_Now came the moment she had dreaded since the moment she had accepted the assignment. She was about to come face to face with what many in Konoha considered to be the sum of all fears. No amount of time would let anyone forget the night Konoha had faced the greatest of all nine of the demon lords. __She willed herself to seek out the place where the Kyuubi lay hidden inside its jailor's mind. A massive gate appeared before her. On the front of the gate was a piece of paper which bore the faded word "seal." The writing was so faint it was hard to imagine that it was still functioning properly, and Ino briefly wondered if she had somehow sent herself to the wrong place. A pair of menacing red eyes informed her that she had not miscalculated._

**_"Who are you?"_**

_The voice would have sent shivers of fear down her spine if she had one at the moment._

_"Who I am is not important. I am here because I need answers."_

_The voice boomed with malevolent laughter._

**_"And what reason could I, the Great Kyuubi no Yoko, possibly have to answer your questions?"_**

_Ino did not have an answer for that. Mentally she knew that the beast behind the bars could not hurt her, but even so, her soul cried out in terror at the thought of provoking the demon. Still, the sooner it was over the better. As it was, she would have nightmares for the rest of her life about the experience._

_"There is a gap in the memories of your container. I was wondering if you had anything to do with this?"_

_**"And what if I did?"** The Kyuubi snarled. "**That boy is nothing to me. He tried for years to ally himself with me. I even let him think I was on his side for a time so I could convince him to take this blasted seal off."** A massive claw motioned to the bars of the cage. **"Now he has all but suppressed me to the farthest reaches of his mind. He believes he has successfully merged with my consciousness, but no fool of a mortal could possibly contain the vast wisdom and knowledge of the Great Kurama. Now I must settle to rotting away in this cell, without even the satisfaction of tormenting my jailor as I was once able to do."**_

_The power of the Kyuubi's hatred was nearly enough to paralyze Ino. It was only her exceptional mental fortitude which allowed her to continue._

_"And you've never once thought of revenge?" Ino knew this was a ridiculous question, but she needed information._

**_"Revenge? My every thought is bent on it! Even if his death means my end, I will not hesitate to destroy him!"_**

_"I believe you already have. Tell me, can you perceive time in this prison of yours?"_

_**"Of course."** The Kyuubi snapped. **"I see all through the eyes of that brat."**_

_Ino felt she was getting close. "Then can you tell me what he was doing about two days ago? Do you have any memory of a tower, of a man your container recognized as the Rokudaime?" She made a silent prayer that this would be what she was looking for. With this, she would be able to prove Naruto's innocence.  
_

_The Kyuubi was silent for several minutes before giving its reply._

_**"As I recall,"** the beast rumbled with great satisfaction, **"I killed him."**_

_The words hit her with such force that she nearly lost the integrity of the jutsu._

_"Just one more question," she whispered, "why?"_

_The mouth of the Kyuubi opened in a hideous smile of dripping fangs._

**_"Must I repeat myself worm? I already told you I would not hesitate to destroy him. I was given a chance for revenge."_**

_"How did killing Shikamaru have anything to do with revenge?!"  
_

_**"In a single stroke I have destroyed everything that boy stood for. He has no choice but to hate himself now. That is my revenge."**  
_

_"Who?!" She demanded. "Who allowed you to do this?"_

_**"Your questions bore me, human. I only know that I was able to control the brat long enough to take my revenge."** _

_The bone chilling-smile returned. _

**_"Now leave mortal, before I decide to eat you."_**

_A massive rush of red chakra flooded through the gates and Ino's control of the jutsu crumbled._

* * *

Danzo watched silently as Ino worked. For ten minutes nothing could be heard except for the sound of breathing in the prison chamber. Then a red glow began to appear around both the Kyuubi-container and his agent. The Yamanaka was suddenly thrown clear across the room, impacting with a bone cracking thud against the stone wall of the enclosure. For a moment Danzo was sure that she had been killed, but then a cough rattled out of her lungs, blood splattering on the floor as her eyes fluttered open. Her pupils darted from side to side inside her pale irises, as her mind desperately tried to get its bearings. Finally her gaze fixed on the blonde shinobi in the chair.

"Well?" Danzo prompted.

"K-kyuubi..." Ino rasped. "The Kyuubi killed the Rokudaime."

Danzo smirked, as if he had known the answer all along. "So, Uzumaki, you failed in your duty as jinchuriki to contain the evil inside of you." He barked in triumph. "Now there can be no dispute as to your guilt. Can you still deny that the Hokage died by your hand? Can you still deny that you are a threat to this village?"

Naruto's haunted eyes already held the answer. The Kyuubi had made the memories known to him the moment the jutsu had ended.

"No." He whispered brokenly. "I killed Shikamaru... I killed..." It felt like the world was ending. "Hinata... forgive me."


	32. Wrath

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

The dark rings around Shizune's eyes had been a constant in her appearance for nearly four years now. She barely slept these days, and the loss of her beloved Iruka had burdened her with a perpetual aura of sorrow. The stress she carried was well beyond any acceptable levels, even given the loss of her spouse and the work load so generously provided by the hospital. Her hair was ragged and unkempt, her eyes bloodshot and glazed over with depression, and her skin pale and sagging from under-eating and malnourishment. Every day was a struggle to find meaning. Each morning she fought to get out of bed to face her obligations as a Konoha medic-nin. She very nearly starved herself to death after what happened to Iruka.

Sakura had been her saving grace. The pink-haired kunoichi had been her constant companion in those first few months, prattling on about this and that, making sure Shizune ate at least enough to keep her body functional. Sakura tended to the broken woman with a devotion born out of her desperation to hold on to the last link she had to her deceased master. Her endless nagging had eventually been enough to prod Shizune into working at the hospital again. It had saved the dark-haired woman's life. Healing had given her life a purpose again. Yet, nothing could ever replace everything she had lost. She had all of one person to thank for that.

Unbeknownst to even her pink-haired confidant, Shizune's motivation for reclaiming her position at the hospital had little to do with healing. The truth was buried deep beneath her eyes, a burning hatred that would not subside until she accomplished the one thing she still lived for: revenge. Danzo had taken everything from her, and she would defy him to the last. She could not rest until justice was served. After years of waiting, opportunity knocked on her door.

For the nth time she reviewed the results of her handiwork. What she had done was unforgivable, something so heinous not even Orochimaru had had the gall to try it. It had taken a little over three years to complete. Secrecy was a necessity, and all of her work had been done during the dead of night; the true reason the rings around her eyes had never disappeared. Orochimaru's abandoned laboratory had been the perfect place to conduct her research and realize her goal. Her contribution was a lynchpin to a plan that would ultimately lead to her revenge. She could never wash her hands clean after this, but that was a small price to pay if it meant seeing Danzo dead. He would rue the day he pulled the plug on Tsunade and issued the order to have Iruka executed.

As her eyes ran over the last details of the results she smiled in satisfaction. It was so perfect not even Sakura had been able to tell the difference.

Speaking of which...

"Shizune-san, I need you in the OR." Sakura's voice came in over the PA.

"Of course, Sakura-san. I'll be right there."

For now she would have to keep up appearances. She could wait, no matter how much longer it took. Revenge was a dish best served cold.

* * *

Hinata simply did not know what to do with herself.

Naruto was still being held captive, and there was little-to-nothing she could do about it. She didn't know where he was, and even if she did, what could she possibly accomplish with her chakra depleted and the entire ANBU between her and her partner? Her mind was so fatigued that these thoughts played around in an endless circle, tormenting her in her inability to act. Each time she began to form a plan it immediately fell apart at the seams; it was a good thing she had never taken up sewing.

Exhausted was a gross understatement for her current condition. She had thoroughly abused her air-walk technique getting back to Konoha, and even the soldier-pills she had been popping for the last forty-eight hours were beginning to fail her. It was a diminishing return and she knew it. The only cure for her was some good old-fashioned shut-eye and a piping hot meal, neither of which she had the luxury to afford. Time was against her, and every second brought Naruto closer to a fate that he did not deserve. Somebody had to do something, and she was most-definitely that somebody. If only she wasn't so beat. The fact of the matter was that she was running on fumes, and no amount of willpower was going to change that.

She decided that if she was going to do anything to help her partner, she needed to recover herself first.

With this in mind, Hinata forced her feet back in the direction of the apartment, hoping that a little food and rest would be the first step in getting everything back to the way it should be... but even in her ragged state she knew this to be a false-hope. What was "the way it should be" anyway(?), she found herself wondering. Mission after mission, argument after argument, followed by a bit of playful banter with strong sexual overtones? Was that the way it should be? She didn't think so.

The routine she and Naruto had fallen into during their time together seemed laughable. That they should just begin to start down the road that might lead to something more, only to have it snatched away what seemed moments later, was a sort of cruel irony Hinata was sure any kami would appreciate. That was what the kami did; throw you one way, then the other... If she was truly circumspect, given the whole of her life up to this point, it was rather silly to be surprised by such a left-hook. Judging by the strength of the blow, her shadowy life-shaping opponent was probably three-meters tall and weighed two-hundred kilos.

Hinata was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she nearly ran straight into a shinobi whom was running down the street. The small shinobi raced towards her, flagging her down with his waving arms. So enthusiastic was his manner, that his flailing arms caused him to lose his balance, and he tripped headlong over the lengthy scarf draped over his shoulder. Face down in the dirt, she could see he was also in a sorry state. His dark hair stuck out at odd angles and his eyes were glazed over with fatigue and worry. Whatever his purpose was, he seemed intent on her. As he rose to his feet, the dark irises of his eyes locked on to hers.

Hinata suddenly realized that she knew this young man.

"Konohamru-kun." She acknowledged.

"Hinata-chan." He said, moving closer. "You can't go back to the apartment. It's been cordoned off by ROOT."

She studied the look on his face, not liking what she saw. "Did they send you to tell me?"

"No," he admitted, "I figured somebody ought to though. They haven't taped it off yet. I just didn't want them to get you for trespassing."

"Trespassing in my own apartment." She stated flatly. "I doubt they would go to the trouble."

"Maybe not," Konohamaru agreed reluctantly, "But for now, I wouldn't go there if I were you. The last thing the Boss needs is you making a scene right now."

Hinata remembered some of the conversations she had had with Naruto about the young heir to the Sarutobi clan. For a time, he had been a sort of mentor to the boy and his friends. Somehow he had managed to earn the title of "boss", not that it was very impressive considering his subordinates. Still, all things considered, it must have meant something that Konohamaru still held him in such high esteem. Enough, anyway, that warning his Boss's partner was deemed part of the young Sarutobi's duties, at least as Konohamaru saw it.

"I guess you're right." The young Hyuuga heiress acquiesced.

"It was actually Neji-san who sent me." Konohamaru revealed nervously, wringing his hands. "He said he needs to speak with you."

Hinata quirked an eyebrow. "I'll bet he does."

"He said he'd meet you at the Hyuuga compound, in your old room."

She flashed him an insincere smile. "Thanks Konohamaru-kun. I'll let him know I got the message."

Konohamaru opened his mouth as if to say something else, then hesitated, his eyes scanning the shadows for some unknown threat.

"Just be careful." He warned her.

The grave sincerity in his voice was enough to give Hinata pause.

Perhaps the young Sarutobi knew more than he was letting on? It was too much for her exhausted mind to contemplate. She dismissed the odd feeling in her gut, chalking it up to being overly-hungry. Her stomach grumbled, as if it was agreeing with this line of reasoning. She just needed some chow, and sleep. That would take care of it.

Then, Konohamaru gave her a look that chilled her to the marrow in her bones. He _did_ know something. Something terrible.

Before she could ask him what he had _not_ been willing to tell her, he took off back in the other direction, nearly tripping himself on his scarf as he went.

She filed away the bit of information (Konohamaru's chilling look) into the back-burner of her brain. She would have to get around to confronting him about it, eventually. There was just so much more on her mind, so much more she needed to do. There were many more pressing matters at hand. She would have to see to them first before chasing down this stray bit of perplexing intuition she had in regard to Konohamaru's withheld information.

'So Neji needs to see me. I suppose I'll grant him his wish.'

Hinata was in no-way looking forward to the meeting, and even less to traipsing back into the Hyuuga estate in her present condition. A chewing-out from her father seemed inevitable, but at the moment, that was the least of her worries. She needed to get some rest if she was going to do anything to help Naruto. With this is mind, she put one foot in front of the other and beat a weary path, heading home.

* * *

Hiashi squinted in the dim light of his study, his eyes trained on a particular line of prophecy.

_Through the river will she change the course of its flow. A message drowned in the sorrow of the fifth path. __On the eve of our destruction will the sacrifice be made. Only through her sacrifice will hope be borne again into this world: the man death cannot conquer. When the will of fire purges the herald's soul, only then will the Sky claim its master. Through the Earth will he move. A place only the blind can see._

Hiashi puzzled over the words of his long dead ancestor for what seemed the nth time. 'Why couldn't Hiama be more specific.' He thought, frustration turning to anger as he failed to find any new meaning. 'That's the nature of prophecy though. More trouble than it's worth most of the time.' Yet despite his thoughts he knew that Hiama's word held the key to both the future of the Hyuuga and the world. His eyes turned back to the scroll.

_And the herald will be marked by the curse of my own shame; exiled. And so shall she be the last of her kind_, _the bearer of a_ _secret passed down from the dawn of time._

This was a line that was widely agreed to refer to the herald of the scroll... in this case his daughter. It was difficult to see how the prophecy could mean anything other than the destruction of the Hyuuga. For if Hinata was indeed the last of her kind, she would be the bearer of the secret the Hyuuga had passed down from the dawn of time: the secret of the other world that existed on a parallel plane to their own.

'We are in grave trouble. And here we had hoped Hiama's words to be the accusations of a deranged man. Yet, how can we deny the validity of his claims? The first part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. I cannot look the other way in this matter. Even if it means the end of the Clan, Hiama makes it quite clear that somehow Hinata is the key to maintaining the balance between the worlds... and if somehow that balance is upset.' Hiashi was loathe to continue down that line of thought. If the balance was destroyed so would the barrier separating the worlds. If the boundary was destroyed the two worlds would be unable to exist in the same reality. The theory was that it would mean the end of both worlds, a cataclysm beyond anything they could ever imagine.

His gaze meandered back to the title of the scroll.

_Ballad of Earth and Sky_

'And yet it is obvious there is something I am missing. The prophecy is rather vague, but even the youngest of the elders would acknowledge that the herald is only a part of the key... Minato, my old friend I wish you were here with me now. You were one of the few who truly believed in the power of Hiama's words. If only we had had more time, I'm sure that together we would have figured it out by now. If only there had been some other way...'

His memories brought him back to that terrible night. The night the lord of demons had unleashed his wrath against the walls of Konoha.

_"Isn't it wonderful, Hiashi-san? I'm going to be a father! A father!" His friend exclaimed exuberantly._

_"Ah, Minato-san." Hiashi said, smiling. "The both of us must be truly blessed. Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?"_

_"Hmmm.." Minato pondered. "I don't know. I wouldn't mind either way. But I have this funny feeling it's going to be a boy."_

_"Strange," Hiashi commented, "I can't help but feeling like mine will be a girl. I admit that I am hoping for a son, though. A strong heir to lead the Clan when I'm gone would be both a comfort and a joy."_

_"Oh there's a thought. If Kushina has a boy, and yours is a girl, maybe we can get them hitched."_

_Hiashi scowled, though there was obvious mirth dancing in his eyes. "That's crazy talk, man. The bloodline would be polluted beyond repair."_

_"Yes, yes," The Fourth chuckled, "But come now I have something to show you. I've found something in the Uzumaki clan library."_

_"The library? But we'd have to travel all the way to Whirlpool..."_

_"No, no," Minato cut him off, "Well, I mean yes, but no. I've managed to make some modifications to the Hiraishen. I've adapted the long range version to be able to transport another person with me... with the proper seals of course." A wolfish grin stole over his face. "I've done all the work, as usual, and you get to reap the benefits..."_

_"As usual." Hiashi finished for him. "Are you sure you want to go now? Kushina's just gone into labor."_

_"I know, but I'm afraid it can't wait. This is much too important."_

_"Very well, but if you screw up the Hiraishen and I end up with my head on backwards in the middle of Iwa, so help me I will..."_

_At that moment the door to the Hokage's office flew open. A dark figure in a mask raced across the room, kneeling in supplication to the Hokage as he fought to catch his breath. Even though his eyes were not visible, it was clear something was wrong... something was terribly, terribly wrong._

_"Speak, man." The Hokage commanded. "And by the Kami, this had better be important."_

_"Hokage-sama... it's the Kyuubi-no-yoko. The village is under attack!"_

_Hiashi and Minato shared a look. A look that said goodbye.  
_

'That was the last time I ever saw you alive old friend.' Hiashi thought somberly. 'What was it you were trying to show me? If only Whirlpool hadn't been destroyed perhaps there would have been some way for me to find out.' Hiashi had been a different man in those days. Likely, a better man. If only things had turned out differently...

Yes if only, but if only didn't have any weight in the here-and-now, and time was running out.

_Clack_

The Lord of the Hyuuga startled at hearing the sliding door to his private study opened. When he saw who it was his expression was one of relief.

"So you were able to find her?" He prompted.

"No, Hiashi-san." Neji answered quickly. "But I managed to call in a couple favors. No matter where she goes, someone will be there to send her here."

"Excellent, excellent. Go and continue your preparations. We must be ready to act immediately when the time comes."

Neji nodded. "It will be ready, Hiashi-san. You have my word."

As his young nephew paced back out of the room, Hiashi couldn't help but ask himself the question that had gone unasked.

"But will it be enough?"

* * *

"It is not enough." Koharu looked like he had bitten into something sour. "I don't care who or what is responsible for the Rokudaime's death. There is no way we can possibly give up such an asset to the village. You and I both know that Naruto is far too valuable to be scape-goated in this way. It would ruin the village. Not only would be giving up our most powerful weapon, but we'd be defenseless against attack, and we all know that despite the Shinobi Alliance, old hatreds run deep. Too much blood has been shed. If we give up the power of the Kyuubi, who's to say there isn't someone out there just waiting to strike back at us? Our economy is still in shambles and our shinobi forces depleted. Without Naruto we would be the weakest of the five great villages. Even as we stand today, we couldn't possibly hold out against the combined might of any two nations, even with the aid of the Kyuubi's power. Kumogakure is nearly strong enough to take us on their own."

"I'm not debating the point, Koharu." Danzo replied slowly, his patience stretched dangerously thin. "In fact, that _is_ my point. Who has managed to keep up appearances for us? Without my strategy to break down into smaller units, we would never have been able to run enough missions to stay a visible and viable power. Without the tax breaks I ushered in, the village would still look like a giant crater, and we would be the laughingstock of the shinobi world. Whether you believe it or not, this _is_ in our best interest. Only _I_ can maintain the balance necessary to keep us strong. Isn't that what we have been working towards all this time? Isn't that what the plan has always been? If I become the next Hokage my power will be unquestionable. Only then will we have real security. Real, lasting peace."

His words trailed off and an odd look appeared in the old war hawk's eye. For what was the purpose of war if not to usher in an era of peace?

From the beginning, Danzo had always had an advantage that few others knew he possessed: he did genuinely want the best for Konoha, and he did genuinely want lasting peace for its citizens. If that meant getting his hands dirty, it was a small price to pay. A man who believes he is in the right can justify anything in the name of his cause. And a cause he did indeed have. He would make Konohagakure the strongest, most intimidating, most resplendent village in all the shinobi world. A village of such majesty and might that any who plotted against it would be silenced by their own peers for fear of waking the slumbering giant. People would bow and scrape before him, the greatest Hokage in history, just to avoid facing his wrath.

There was only one way to peace. Only one way that he knew was guaranteed to work. For although the sentiments of the other villages currently had Konoha in their good graces, someday down the road that would end. All it would take would be a single misunderstanding and the world as they knew it would be plunged back into bloody war. The only way to insure true and lasting peace was through overwhelming power. If Konoha was considered to be so dangerous that declaring war against it would be bring nothing but sure and utter annihilation, then and only then would the peace truly last.

However, Danzo was a stark realist. He knew that such power could never truly exist, and so it was up to him to maintain the _illusion_ of that power.

'Should have specialized in genjutsu.' He thought humorously. 'No one ever escapes_ my_ web.'

The web he had woven was perfect. So perfect that even the tiniest little vibrations reached his knowing ears. That was the purpose of ROOT, and even more so of his personal GHOSTS. An infant didn't sneeze within the village walls without him knowing about it. Nothing was beyond his scope when it came to Konoha. Even Shikamaru had been powerless against his cunning. It had been the perfect choice. The village needed a Hokage of great intelligence and tact in such a time of weakness, and the Nara had proved to be just that. Danzo would have taken the big chair himself, but had decided not to at the time, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the amount of time a Hokage had to waste on paperwork and diplomatic functions would have left him unable to tend to the village's more immediate needs. He would never have had time to come up with way to bolster the failing economy, or increase the security of the village. Second, Danzo was rather unpopular at the time, and needed a respectable figure wearing the big hat, at least until he had earned enough of it himself to be considered in the running when the next spot opened up on the Hokage monument. Thirdly, he needed time to eliminate the competition in one way or another, or the village council would never approve of an older man with only moderate combat prowess taking the seat. Lastly, and most importantly, the ANBU, which at the time had been diminished down to only a handful compared to what it had been before the cataclysmic encounter with Kabuto and his undead cohorts, had been in dire need of a serious overhaul. There was no way that with so few active shinobi they could possibly accomplish the work necessary to bring in the kind of income the village so desperately needed, the kind of income only A and S rank missions could bring. This need was made even more impossible because he needed to split the forces so they could maintain village security. There hadn't even been enough ANBU to maintain security in the first place, as was proven on the day Pain single-handedly nearly wiped out the entire village. The need had been greater than ever, and without Danzo's constant attention and innovation, the ANBU would have been doomed to failure like a retarded child taking a calculus test.

Danzo's swift action had led to new standards. He admitted, if only to himself, that such a radical change had certain drawbacks. A much higher mortality rate for starters, and a somewhat lower success rate. However, most missions that failed were doomed to failure in the first place, at least in his opinion. The statistics told the story: the success rate had only gone down by eight percent, after the initial drop of nearly fifteen percent- when the new program was still being put through its paces. An intensive training program for new recruits headed up by Might Guy had managed to turn things around, along with Shikamaru's own contribution of new tactics that would better fit the needs of a two-man team. All in all, increasing the amount of missions and assignments they were able to field by fifty percent was by and large an excellent trade off... and the mortality rate hadn't gone up _that _much. Twenty percent could seem like a big number until someone looked at what the base numbers of the equation were. Konoha shinobi were the best, and it was a rather unusual week if more than three or four shinobi were KIA. Most of those were due to wounds that proved instantly fatal anyway. All Chuunin level and higher shinobi were now required to be able to render a perfect stasis jutsu to help get the wounded back to Konoha General. This requirement had been put in place rather quickly after the first few weeks of the new program, courtesy of Sakura, of all the unlikely people. Unlikely, as in Danzo did not like her- at all.

Still Danzo knew that being a successful ruler was about knowing how to use a wide variety of tools, including, and especially, people.

As he was using his advisers at this very moment.

"Look we can all agree," He continued as amiably as he could, "that the power of the Kyuubi is not something we can sacrifice so readily. I believe we are also in agreement that the Uzumaki, no matter how unstable an element he may be, is a vital one. The problem is the corruption of the Kyuubi's container has clearly compromised both assets. So why not cut that out of the equation?"

"What exactly is it that you are suggesting, Danzo?" Homura questioned suspiciously.

"If we cannot control the Uzumaki, the power of the Kyuubi is worthless. Likewise, if the Kyuubi cannot be controlled by its jailor, the Uzumaki is useless. I propose we merely do something to bring the situation under control. _Our _control." Danzo gathered his hand in a fist. "If the Kyuubi cannot be controlled by the Uzumaki, then perhaps there is something else that can."

Homura and Koharu shared a troubled look.

"What you are implying is that there is a way to control the Kyuubi, other than the power of the seals invoked by the Yondaime, the greatest seal-master who ever lived. In short, Danzo, what you are implying is impossible. There is no better way to contain the Kyuubi, other than the manner in which it is already contained."

"And that containment is weakening, failing." Danzo pointed out. "Something must be done."

"Even if something could be done," Koharu observed, "the villagers would never stand for punishing Naruto for a crime that was clearly committed by the sole intent of the Kyuubi. There would be insurrection by the end of the day. Needless to say, our problems are twofold. First: what is to be done with Naruto now that it is clear the seals of the Fourth are failing, and two: what is to be done about the threat of the Kyuubi and its ability to influence its container? We all agree something must be done, Danzo, but it must be done quietly and carefully. That's all we are saying."

"What if there _was_ a way." Danzo offered. "Just _what if?_"

"Well," Homura exhaled in exasperation, "if there w_as_ a way then we would have to take the risk, given that it's reasonable. However, there is no known way to contain a power such as the Kyuubi's other than a jinchuriki, at least that we know of. This is no over-sized Tanuki we are talking about that can stored at our convenience in a teakettle. We are talking about the Lord of all Demons here. I think the simplest solution would be to find some way of augmenting the power of the Fourth's seals, or perhaps creating some kind of failsafe device, like the necklace of the First. Unfortunately, the knowledge of maintaining such a seal or creating such an object of power is beyond what we have available to us. There is no one alive with that kind of knowledge."

"Yes, no one _alive._"

The weight of Danzo's words created an instant and horrid silence in the air. One that even his trusted advisers, whom had stomached many a scheme in the name of the good of the village, were terrified to break. Whatever it was Danzo had in mind, neither Koharu nor Homura wanted to ask him what it was. Unfortunately, curiosity had been written into the genetic code of human beings since the dawn of time itself, and so they found themselves both trying to ask him at once.

"What is it?!" "Danzo you can't possibly mean?!"

"_Silence!_" He commanded harshly. "Now... what I am about to tell you is a secret you will take to your graves. I can assure you of this, because if I so much as even suspect you _might_ say something as to even _hint_ to the existence of this secret, you _will_ find yourselves cold, wet and six feet underground. Do I make myself clear?" His icy visage bore down on them until they both nodded nervously. "Good. Now that you both understand the gravity of the situation, allow me to enlighten you about a little project I call PHANTOM..."

* * *

Hinata wasn't exactly sure how long it was she slept. Despite her best efforts, she had been unable to remain awake for more than a few scant minutes. Whatever it was Neji needed to speak with her about would have to wait. Even when she had been her weaker self, her younger self, the staff had feared to wake her. Only Hanabi could disturb her sister and risk only minimal punishment, but the days when she would jump up onto her older sister's bed, to wake her with a tickle attack, were long gone. So it figured that whatever Neji thought was so important was apparently not important enough to risk Hinata's wrath.

As she was sometimes wont to do in troubled times, Hinata found herself focusing on the sensations of her body, blocking out any thoughts that might come into her still foggy mind. This brief respite had been the only sanctuary she could find as of late. The escalating sexual tension between herself and Naruto was becoming difficult to bear, and it was good to have a few moments of privacy when she first woke so she could center herself. Now, with the Rokudaime dead, and Naruto facing kami-knew what kind of fate, Hinata found that she was unable to maintain her quiet reverie for more than a few seconds. Silently cursing her lack of mental discipline, she slowly opened her eyes to the wood paneling above her bed. It was polished to such a degree that she was able to see her own reflection in the sheen of the finish. She snorted with disgust. Didn't the branch members have anything better to do with their time?

Her thoughts were cut off by a not-so-ladylike grumbling of her stomach. She realized that she was utterly famished, and that a big breakfast... or lunch as the lack of tweeting birds seemed to indicate, was definitely in order. Doing her best to ignore the aches and pains in her body, she rolled from the bed onto her feet.

'I must look like hell...' She thought, as she tried in vain to straighten out her tousled hair. 'But first things first. I don't think I could lift myself out of the bath if I don't have something to eat first. Something with a lot of protein... yeah. Maybe some eggs and rice pudding?'

Were she in a clearer state of mind she might have been ashamed that her first thoughts turned to food, but the needs of her body dictated otherwise.

Doing her best to remain quiet, she moved towards the sliding door. As she moved the delicate bamboo screening to the side, a pair of white eyes were revealed, looming just outside the doorway.

"I was wondering how long you would sleep." Neji said in his usual reserved manner.

"And exactly how long was I asleep?"

"Through yesterday afternoon and into the late morning. It's nearly noon."

A sudden panic came over her. "Is Naruto-"

"They haven't done anything yet, if that's what you're asking."

"Why do I hear a but at the end of that statement?" Hinata questioned sharply.

"Because the council is currently in session to decide his fate."

"Why, what has he done? They couldn't possibly have any evidence. He's innocent. What's there to decide?"

Neji looked reluctant to speak, but the intensity behind the young heiress's eyes was too much to ignore.

"They have proven without a doubt that he did it... at least indirectly."

"What?!"

"Let me explain Hinata-sama, please." There was an obvious strain in Neji's features. Please was not a word typically found in his vocabulary. "Last night an emergency meeting was held under the pretense that vital evidence had been discovered regarding the Rokudaime's assassination. It was an open meeting more or less. Meaning, that any shinobi of Jonin rank or higher were allowed to attend the proceedings. Ino gave her report of a mental investigation she had performed on Naruto. What she found, or rather, what she didn't find, were any memories during the time frame that Shikamaru was murdered."

"Then what's the problem?!" Hinata demanded.

"The problem is what she discovered when she went deeper... she spoke with the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi, who apparently refers to itself as Kurama, freely admitted to taking control of Naruto as a means to murder Shikamaru. The council was in an uproar, claiming that any such investigation couldn't be proven. They really were on Naruto's side."

"Were?" Hinata prompted impatiently.

"Yes, that is, until he came forward and admitted to it himself. After Ino's jutsu, Naruto remembered the memories the Kyuubi had blocked from his mind. He did do it, Hinata. Not intentionally, but he _is_ indirectly responsible for killing the Rokudaime. Such a thing can't be overlooked, even if the council holds him in such high regard."

Hinata stood there, thunderstruck. He _had_ done it.

"B-but that's impossible," She struggled to find the words, "He... he was with me the whole time."

"It was a shadow clone. A clone made with the power of the Kyuubi. The Naruto who traveled with you to the Capital was nothing but a facade created by the Kyuubi to cover its tracks. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it didn't work. Naruto was detained shortly after the carnage in the Hokage tower."

"But why send us to the Capital then, if they knew he was a clone?"

Neji arched an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, but I imagine they wanted to see what he would do."

"This... this is... this is just..."

Her legs gave out beneath her and she landed painfully on her knees. How could she possibly help him now?

"The council is still waiting to make its decision, Hinata-sama. Whatever it is, I'm sure they will do their best to try to help him."

Hinata nearly laughed. Nearly. "Help him? The killer of the Sixth Hokage? I highly doubt that, Neji-san."

"It may not seem that way, but the village needs him. Whatever their decision is, it's not likely to be something as cut and dry as an execution. There are many still lobbying for him to be acquitted. Things may turn out better than they..."

At that moment the loud clack of a door heralded the arrival of a panting Tenten. She skidded to a stop before the pair, nearly slipping on the fine finish of the floor.

"It's... it's..." She sputtered, frantically trying to get the words out between breaths. "It's the council. They've made their decision."

Hinata pushed Neji aside and grabbed Tenten by the shoulders. "What is it?!" She demanded, violently shaking the kunoichi. "What have they done?!"

"Naruto has been acquitted!"

Hinata sank back in relief. Neji had been right.

"But the Kyuubi has been charged with murder." Tenten amended quickly. "The Kyuubi has been sentenced to lifetime incarceration."

"So what? The Kyuubi is incarcerated within Naruto." Neji was quick to point out.

"Yes, but the Kyuubi is considered to be a danger to both its host and the citizens of Konoha. It's to be... extracted."

"Extracted?" Hinata nearly shouted. "But that will kill him! How could they possibly approve of this?! It's like executing him without the luxury of a formal sentence!"

"Be that as it may, there is some chance he will survive. Danzo insisted that every precaution would be taken to insure his safety."

"Did you just say this was Danzo's idea?" Hinata's voice was laced with panic.

"Yes, apparently he's found a way to extract the soul of the Kyuubi with minimal risk to Naruto."

"It can't be done!" The young heiress screamed in outrage. "I know! I've seen it! I've seen what his power looks like! It doesn't work that way, the soul of the Kyuubi has been bound to the sealing mechanism. If they try to extract the soul of the Kyuubi, Naruto's soul will be dragged out with it... that bastard Danzo!" Her breast heaved with ire. "He's not trying to help Naruto, he's after the power of the Kyuubi!" She shot Tenten a withering glare. "How exactly did he say it was to be accomplished?"

"Fragments of the First Hokage's necklace were found by some of the builders when they were clearing the rubble. Danzo consulted an expert and managed to reform the crystal into a permanent prison that could contain the soul of the Kyuubi... but if what you're saying is right..."

"It's not a vessel for the Kyuubi's soul," Hinata choked back a sob, "It's a vessel for its power. They are going to strip him of his power and leave behind a shell... just like Gaara."

"My god," Neji exclaimed in a rare show of emotion, "We have got to tell them. Ten-chan, when is the ritual going to be performed?"

Tenten went as pale as a ghost. "Right now... it's being performed right now."

Hinata was instantly on her feet. "I've got to stop this. This can't happen."

Savage adrenaline thundered through her veins. She was still in full ANBU gear. She had time. She could stop it. She nearly broke the sliding door in her haste to get back into her room. She quickly rummaged through her pack to make sure she had the essentials: shurikens, senbons, smoke bombs, exploding tags, wire. This done she grabbed the last two ration bars and tore into them with such ferocity she nearly choked several times. She would need every second and every calorie if she was going to stop this madness. Somehow she had the feeling that she wasn't going to get through to Danzo with reason. She took a single calming breath and walked back out through the door.

"Tenten-chan, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Hinata-chan. Anything."

Hinata gestured to her arm guards and shin plates. "Can you charge these for me? I know your not supposed to transfer the chakra all at once, but I think I'm going to need it."

"I could..." She chose her words carefully. "But charging the plates with foreign chakra would be dangerous to your system..."

"Then let me do it." Neji suddenly spoke up. "We are kin. Surely the reaction wouldn't be as bad."

Tenten nodded her agreement. "Yes, that would certainly help. But after you use them it's probably going to feel like the hangover of a lifetime."

"Do it."

Blue light swirled around the polished metal as Neji dumped his chakra into the plates. The process took less than two minutes, but Hinata swore every second felt like hours. If the ritual had begun, who knew how long Naruto had until the process became irreversible? She had to act, and act quickly.

Neji slumped back rather suddenly. "I think I overdid it a little. You better use that chakra sooner rather than later. I don't think the plates will hold up for very long with that kind of charge. I put in everything I had, plus a little extra." He gave her a rare smile. "Try not to use it all at once."

"Thank's Nii-san." Hinata said sincerely. "I'll pay you back someday, I promise."

"Just try not to do something too incredibly stupid. That will be payment enough."

"I've got to go now."

In a burst of speed she flew down the corridor and turned the corner.

"Why didn't you just go with her?" Tenten asked, as the obvious struck her.

"She's become more powerful than you could ever imagine, Ten-chan. If anyone can put a stop to this madness, she can."

At that moment Hiashi appeared from the courtyard.

"Where is she?" He demanded. "Why didn't you keep her here as I instructed?"

Neji looked up to his uncle in something that couldn't be described as anything other than raw defiance.

"I owe Naruto a debt. I'm sorry Hiashi-san, but she's gone."

"Gone?" Hiashi flushed an ugly color of red. "Give me your comm- now!" Rather than waiting for an answer he reached forward and grabbed the small comm headset all ANBU carried with them. "This is Hiashi to the staff: assemble at the main gate. Do not allow my daughter to pass. Detain her at all costs!"

As he ran towards the front of the complex he spared a moment to glare back down the hall. "You will pay for this, nephew! Mark my words!"

* * *

Hinata ground to a halt just before the main entrance to the Hyuuga complex. Over three dozen Hyuuga barred her path.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"I'm sorry, Lady Hinata, but Lord Hiashi has instructed us not to allow you beyond the gate." One of the older branch members said in a sotto voice.

"Then you leave me no choice." Hinata felt her resolve waver for only an instant. Her hand formed a single seal. "Pain!"

All of the branch members abruptly fell to their knees in anguish. At that moment Hiashi burst onto the scene.

"Release!" He shouted. "You will stop this, daughter! The council has made its ruling! You cannot interfere!"

"Out of the way father, before I am forced to do something I'll regret."

"The only thing you will regret is the beating I am about to give you." There was not an ounce of give in his voice. "Yield!"

"No."

As the members of the Hyuuga began to close in she was suddenly filled with desperate power. If she was the only one to see that this was wrong, then nothing on earth was going to stop her. Not even her own clan. Not even her own father. With grim acceptance she took a low stance.

"For what I am about to do, please forgive me."

An aura of blinding white began to swirl around her form, spinning tighter and tighter until she glowed with power. Then it released in a fury to shake the heavens.

"Shining Stance Style: Grand Kaiten!"

Several members of the clan threw up their own Kaiten in an attempt to counter, but to no avail. The power of her Grand Kaiten was so great that the members nearest to her were sent flying through the air. Several crashed with bone crunching force into the walls and buildings of the compound. Hiashi himself was the only one left standing. The power of her Grand Kaiten left Hinata standing inside a depression more than five feet deep. As she walked out of the destruction she had just wrought, she finally realized the truth.

"I hope I've finally lived up to your expectations, father."

Hiashi looked upon the bodies of his fallen clan members. He noticed that several who had crashed into the walls and buildings were not moving.

"Hinata... my daughter. Look at what you have done! I cannot forgive you of this!" His fists glowed with otherworldly light. "This ends here."

"So it does."

Before he could even begin to close with her she was upon him. A single chop to the back of his neck rendered him unconscious.

She looked back only once, taking a silent moment to mourn the action she had been forced to take.

"You will pay for making me do this Danzo! You will feel the wrath of the Hyuuga!"

As she sprinted out of the complex and leaped to the nearest building, she didn't even notice the tears that began to stream down her cheeks.

* * *

The phantom figured cloaked itself deep in the shadows, waiting. He knew the time would soon come. The red eyes of his mask gleamed in the silence.


	33. Darkness Part I: TEASER

_A/N_: Okay this is a little teaser for the next chapter... which is actually the next _two_ chapters. This final bit of part II is turning out to be a real behemoth. I mean, this first scene is nearly 4,100 words! There are eleven or twelve (still working out a bit of the structure) more scenes planned. Can you imagine what the total would be if I posted this as a single chapter? I'd estimate over 40,000 words! That's just too much for a single chapter, even one meant to be the finale of part II. So I have taken the liberty of breaking up the last chapter, titled _Darkness_, into two parts:_ Darkness Part I_ and _Darkness Part II _respectively. Hence Kakashi's vision he speaks of in this little scene right here between him and Anko... which isn't little, as I said before. Since each chapter is already going to be around 20,000 words, there will also be a teaser for _Darkness Part II_.

On a side note, the one-shot I wrote, _The Gold Watch_, is now no longer going to be an omake, and is instead planned to be integral to the ANBU plot, as it twists and turns its way through Part III. So you can go ahead and read it if you want a sneak peak, but keep in mind that the last scene, which puts it into the context of ANBU, is not contained in the one-shot, as _The Gold Watch _is also meant to be a stand-alone story... well maybe a few more one-shots with the same theme. It's just too much fun to write!

Another side note: _Bushido _has been deleted and permanently discontinued. I just didn't feel like writing the thing... too convoluted, and I was only 1 chapter in! I may pick this idea up again, but in all likelihood I wont, if I do, I will present it differently... as with _Guardian: Reloaded! _Which, on yet _another_ side note, will be continued after I finish up Part II of this story.

For those of you who faithfully review this story, or review at all, please, as with the rest of the teasers I have posted, reserve your logged-in reviews for the complete version of this chapter. I ask this because as usual, I will re-post over this chapter, so you wont be able to review under your logged in name a second time for this _technically-one_ chapter. I so much enjoy reading all your reviews, that I don't want to miss any comments you might make on this chapter as a whole. If you find yourself in desperate need to review this anyway, please log-out first and post that way. You can still post with your name, and I can pm you that way, if you have a specific question etc. Also, for those of you trying to guess what happens next (I guarantee you wont) you can pm me your thoughts on the matter. I'm sure you'll have some comments about the _darkness_ Kakashi alludes to in this chapter.

Well, without further ado, here is the teaser for _Darkness Part I_.

* * *

Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Hatake Anko, nee Mitarishi, was greatly troubled. She hadn't seen her husband in over twenty-four hours, which was highly unusual given that he wasn't out on a mission. This, however, was the least of her concerns. She had just discovered a bit of news at the hospital that she couldn't help but have mixed feelings about. More than that, she was worried what her husband would have to say about it. Their relationship was passionate, to say the least, but she was very worried about their recent lack of communication. Good communication was the foundation of any lasting relationship, and it seemed they were struggling to maintain anything beyond the bare necessities. All things considered, she was sure Kakashi would not take the news well. The additional strain it would put on the relationship could possibly be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

Still, she had to tell him. There was nothing for it.

Sitting on the couch in front of the T.V., she wondered not for the first time if she should just take care of the matter herself. She didn't even have to involve him in the decision if she didn't want to, but somehow it just didn't seem like the right thing to do. Anko knew she was by no means a moral individual, but there were some lines that even she was loath to cross. This was most certainly one of them.

Besides, for all she knew, Kakashi might be overjoyed at the sentiment.

This was unlikely, but given the chance at a better and more fulfilling life, Anko was willing to take the chance. Kakashi was now her partner in all things, for better or for worse, and excluding him from such a life changing decision was sure to be nothing but foolhardy. She had to tell him, and it had to be something they faced together. She wasn't really afraid of confronting him, but rather, she was afraid of what he might say. Anko, for her part, had already made her decision. She just hoped Kakashi would see things the way she did. More than that, it was her deepest wish that this would lead to something more. She had worked long and hard to woo the man she had so unexpectedly fallen in love with, and it was a hard-won victory. Yet, it was well worth the sum of all her efforts. In her opinion, she had already been paid back with the love he had so begrudgingly admitted to having for her.

That, in and of itself, seemed nothing short of a miracle of the most wondrous sort: that a man of his disposition and history had come to find that part inside himself that longed to love and be loved. Somehow, against seemingly insurmountable odds, she too had found the part of herself that yearned for a better life.

When Orochimaru had abandoned her, she thought it impossible that the world would ever be right again. She had thought she was in love with him, that she was destined to be by his side. It was never to be, and she couldn't be more thankful that things had turned out the way they had. If she had had her wish, she no doubt would have ended up dead, with nobody to remember her other than a heartless Sanin who considered her no more than a tool: something only defined by its usefulness to him.

After she had been accepted back into the village things had gotten better for her. She was immensely talented in the shinobi arts, and had a great deal to offer the community of Konohagakure. It was ironic that her greatest sin had turned out to be the thing that defined her role as a Special Jonin of Konoha.

She had earned the rank not by graduating the academy and working her way up through the ranks, like most others were required to do. Instead, the dark arts she had learned from Orochimaru, and the vital intel she had been able to provide about the S rank missing-nin, had sling-shot her into a position of respect and rank.

Being a Special Jonin was a bit like being a jack of all trades, or a Jill in her case. She was responsible for keeping tabs on the fallen prodigy, coordinating with the ANBU for special reconnaissance missions, putting newly minted Genin through their paces, and working secretly with the Hokage to protect the village against hidden threats. Things had gone smoothly for the longest time, and she had earned a great deal of respect from her fellow shinobi through her services to the village. She was also feared, which was, in her opinion, something even more valued than respect in some ways. Orochimaru had been the master of wielding fear to its utmost potential. She had learned from the best in that regard, and was able to use it to her greatest advantage.

This, in turn, had its drawbacks.

As she became more eccentric, more prone to sudden bloodlust and… well just plain-old lust, she discovered that she was slowly isolating herself from the bonds she had made with her comrades. She had never been a terribly sociable person, though, despite what many thought of her, she was able to be civil and tact when she wanted. She just didn't see the benefit of such a disposition, unless she was in some sort of diplomatic-leadership role. Needless to say, she was not, and never would be that kind of person, and so she continued down the road of hedonistic pleasures, late nights, and more sake and dango than was healthy for any one woman to consume. As she spiraled deeper into the murk of her own making, she slowly began to realize that she had never put to rest the demons that still haunted her.

She would never be rid of the influence of Orochimaru, and as time passed it looked as if the dark Sanin was still poisoning her with his venomous fangs, even despite her best efforts to drown out her past in liquor.

She knew she needed to do something to counter this self-destructive vortex, but for the life of her she just didn't have the strength of will to do it on her own. She had considered getting help of some sort for a while, but she always ended up chickening out. She was a Jonin of Konoha, and if the experts said she was fit for duty, who was she to question? Still, the darkness in her heart was eating her alive, and she knew if something wasn't done soon, it would consume her completely.

It was one particularly bad day, a day she had woken up screaming from the nightmares, that her life had taken a sudden and unexpected turn. She was nearing the end of her rope, guilt-tripping herself into oblivion over the fact that she had failed to anticipate Orochimaru's attack on the village. It had felt as if her failure was complete. First she had been unable to kill her old mentor in the Forest of Death, and then she had failed the village in her duty to be the specialist she had once been so proud to be deemed.

She was down at an exceptionally seedy bar that night, drowning her miseries in a bottle of sake that would give paint-thinner a run for its money in toxicity, when she was paid an unexpected visit by a certain living-legend of the highest repute.

_Kakashi had sat down next to her, saying nothing. He gave her that look of his, that "I know exactly how you feel" look, that made most everyone feel indescribably small. Without a word he had unceremoniously knocked the bottle off the bar, and handed the tender a small sum of ryo. Somehow his order went unspoken, and the unsavory fellow returned with an expensive looking bottle of the good stuff. Kakashi then proceed to pour them each a glass, taking his time to savor the feel of the rice liquor burning down his throat._

_"One of those days." He had uttered so quietly, she almost hadn't heard him. "Am I right?"_

_Anko had been so taken aback that Kakashi was even speaking to her, she nearly didn't find her voice._

_"Yes." She had heard herself saying. "It really is, isn't it?"_

_Kakashi seemed satisfied with her answer, leaning back on his stool. It was several more minutes before he again spoke._

_"It wasn't your fault you know. " He said abruptly. "No one could have known what the snake was planning."_

_Anko again fought to find her words. "But… it was my responsibility to be the village's counter to Orochimaru. How could anyone possibly think that I haven't failed Konoha? Hundreds of lives were lost yesterday. If I had been a little more vigilant, none of this would have happened. It was my fault Orochimaru got the jump on us like that. I was his student. I was supposed to know the ins-and-outs of his scheming. How can you possibly say it wasn't my fault?"_

_Kakashi grunted, dismissing her self-pity._

_"Look, we all make mistakes. By your line of thinking, it was my fault more than anyone else. I had the chance to take Orochimaru out once and for all, back during the first round of bouts in the Chunin exam. I was working to seal the curse seal the snake had just put on my student, Sasuke. In my position, I was unable to both protect Sasuke and engage Orochimaru. If I had decided to go for the kill, I would have been sacrificing my student. Obito always told me that those who abandon their teammates are the worst kind of trash, and so I stayed my hand. Yet, in sparing the life of my student, it resulted in the death of hundreds. By your reasoning, how could I possibly overlook such an incalculable blunder?"_

_Anko was speechless. There he was, the legendary sharingan-wielder, lecturing her about the perils of taking a mistake too seriously. Who was she to argue with **him**, Copy-Cat Kakashi, that somehow her mistake had been more deserving of blame? Who was she to question the renowned logic of the village's greatest ANBU agent, a man with a stunning 100% success rate? That he hadn't failed a mission since becoming a Jonin only added to his remarkable reputation. This was the man who had single-handedly taken down Momochi Zabuza, Demon of this Mist, whilst protecting a drunken old bridge builder **and** his newly minted team of rookie Genin. Who was she to question?_

_"I…" She managed with some difficulty. "I guess you're right." She grudgingly admitted._

_"Glad we could clear that up." Kakashi said in a monotone, as if he was advising her on the color of a dress._

_"Hatake-san…" Anko hesitated. "Do you… do you ever, you know, well hate yourself? I mean not just for no reason, but because you did something you just can't forgive yourself?"_

_Kakashi surprised her, smiling beneath his mask. _

_"All the time, but that doesn't mean I can't keep going. The village needs me. My team needs me. How can I turn my back on those who rely on me just because of a little self-loathing? At times, it seems as if I can't go on. Then I remember the smiling faces of all the people who live here in the village. If for nothing else, I can go on for their sake. I may not be able to forgive myself on my own account, but I can for their sake. More than that, I'm sure they would forgive me in a heartbeat. What's important is accepting that there are some things you just can't change; especially the past. If I dwelled on every little thing I've done wrong over the years, I'd spend my days sitting in a stupor. Then where would I be? I find the best cure for self-hate is a little retribution on those who were the true cause of the tragedy. Who planned the attack on the village in the first place, Mitarishi-san? It wasn't you, I'm pretty sure. If it was," he said, sounding serious, "then I guarantee you won't walk out of here alive, but somehow I doubt you had anything to do with it."_

_"No," Anko said quickly, not wanting to risk his wrath, no matter how unlikely, "If I had the chance, I would kill that snake bastard without a moment's hesitation, even if it cost me my own life."_

_"There, you see?" Kakashi offered kindly. "That's the spirit. The Will of Fire burns brighter inside you than you think, Mitarishi-san. Keep on the way you have and you're sure to find something good. I guarantee it. Put your best foot forward and you'll always find yourself in a better place…"_

Anko had followed his advice, and now that was exactly where she was. She intended to keep it that way.

She couldn't believe things had come so far since that day, that it was the beginning of something truly grand. Now fate had come back to bite her in the ass though, so it seemed. The very thing that had heralded their march down the aisle was now laughing at her. Oh, how cruel and cunning the kami could be. But such was life, her life anyway, as it were, and as Kakashi had said to her those many years ago, she could only move forward as best she could. She was determined to do just that.

At that moment a loud bang marked the entry of what she could smell was a very inebriated Kakashi.

"Anko!" He cried happily, quite drunk. "How are you?"

Anko was immediately put on guard. Kakashi never arrived home drunk when he could manage it, and when he did, he was always very sullen. She was constantly brow beating him on the subject. She insisted he was only allowed to get drunk with _her_. That now seemed like a thing of the past, at least for a while anyway. The booze would have to wait until her condition changed. Meanwhile, there were plenty of other things they could enjoy together.

At the moment, simple pleasures were the furthest thing from her mind. Something was very wrong about this whole situation, and it only heightened her already considerable anxiety about broaching_ the topic_. Something was off, and it wasn't just Kakashi's stumbling gait. Something was eating away at the sharingan-wielder, something so dire that he hadn't even bothered to cover-up his obvious intoxication. In fact, it was possible he was looking for her counsel on the subject, something that in and of itself was altogether alarming. Kakashi tended to solve his problems on his own, and that he had come home so visibly disturbed spoke volumes. He must have had something he urgently needed to tell her too, and that made Anko's resolution just that much harder to follow through with.

Still, she wasn't going let anything as trivial as a drunken husband put her off. This was important.

"Kakashi," she began gravely, "there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh?" He meandered his way to plop down beside her on the couch. "What ish it?"

"Kakashi?" she steeled herself, determined to get it over with as quickly as possible.

"Yesh?"

She took a deep breath.

Then she took the plunge.

"I'm pregnant."

The silence was deafening.

"Not funny." Kakashi said after a moment.

"No, Kakashi. I _am_ pregnant. For real this time."

The silver-haired Jonin turned white as a ghost. Anko was sure, for a second, that he would faint.

"My gods," he spoke in a reverent whisper, "is it true?"

Anko nodded. "It is."

In a burst of seemingly impossible speed Kakashi ripped off his mask and kissed her full on the mouth.

"That's the best news I've had all…" He was so giddy he looked about ready to either dance for joy, or rip her clothes off. Anko would have been happy with either. "I think I've ever had!" He exclaimed, his voice filled with a sort of awe-inspired joy.

If Anko was worried about him before, she was definitely worried about him now.

"Did you hit your head or something?" She asked, covertly looking for any sign of damage. This was just so unlike him.

He waved the question off. "No, no… well yes, but no. Anyway, this is just great, a child, _our _child! I don't think…." He struggled for words he seldom had occasion to use. "I don't think I've ever felt happier or more excited in my life than I do right now. Oh, Anko," He sighed, leaning in close and whispering in her ear. "You are a wonder, simply a wonder. I hope it's a girl. I hope she looks just like you."

Anko snorted. "Let's hope not… anyway I'm assuming from your reaction that you want me to keep it?"

"Of course!" He cried, almost too loudly. "How could I possibly want anything else?"

Anko wrinkled her nose. "Well I don't know, I just thought… well, that maybe you might have an aversion to this kind of thing." It was a statement, not a question.

"No. In fact, I couldn't think of anything that could ruin this moment…" He trailed off, as if he had just thought of something that had. He breathed heavily for a moment, kissing her throat, then moved up for another deep and lasting kiss. When they broke apart, Anko could see the worry etched into his brow. "Anko, we need to talk."

"What?" She asked. "About the baby?"

"No… about the future of the village: about Naruto."

She nearly sighed in relief. She had been expecting this ever since she got wind that Naruto had been detained by Danzo and his ROOT. She knew that sooner or later Kakashi would come home to talk to her about it. What had her puzzled was that he needed to come home stumbling drunk in order to discuss it.

From what she had heard, there was little-to-no evidence pointing to the young Kyuubi-container's involvement in the whole business. She had thought Kakashi would come back and have a good laugh with her about the ridiculous turn of events that had led to the Uzumaki's detention. Though nothing was ever so cut-and-dry when someone as devious as Danzo was involved, she was certain the whole thing would blow over in a couple of days. That her husband had needed to get plastered, and moreover, that he now had on his serious-face, was very disturbing.

"What about it?" She asked, doing her best to sound unconcerned.

"Well…" Kakashi was obviously working to form complete sentences. "It's just that I have this _feeling_."

Anko felt like smacking him. "A feeling? You got wasted over a _feeling_?"

He waved his arms frantically, trying to avert her rage. "Yes, but not just _any_ feeling. It's like the times I got a gut instinct so strong that I just acted without thinking. I've told you the stories. I can't tell you how many times that instinct has saved me. You know the truth of this… you even saw it in action that one time at the border. This is more than that. It's the most intense I've ever felt it. Something is about to go seriously wrong Anko, and I don't know if I'll be able to stop it this time."

She weighed his words carefully. It was true Kakashi had an unbelievable sixth sense. What he said wasn't to be taken lightly.

"So you had _the _feeling." She acknowledged. "What is it you think is going to happen?"

"Well… I've had a sort of… _premonition_."

This was also something she was familiar with. Kakashi had an uncanny ability to predict events well before they happened.

"What was it?" She realized she was afraid to hear the answer.

"Anko," he uttered gravely, taking her hand in his tender grasp, "I've had a feeling… that somehow, beyond a doubt, Naruto isn't going to survive this."

"What do you mean survive? It's not like Danzo could have him executed. It would be as good as signing his own death warrant."

"I know… but I just _know_ it… I feel it with every fiber of my being. Naruto is _going_ to die. _Soon_."

Anko was more unsettled by his words than she thought she should have been. Something about the way he said it made it seem a certainty.

"So what are we going to do about it?"

Kakashi groaned, clutching his head. "That's the problem. I think it's my fault."

Anko sniffed. "What about all the times you told me not to dwell on mistakes?"

"You don't understand!" He shouted, startling her. "I was the one who turned him in!"

"You _what?!" _

Anko was torn between strangling him to death on the spot, or castrating him first, then strangling him to death.

"It's more complicated than that. I was given instructions… at least I think I was. It was something Shikamaru did before he died."

He continued to explain the mystery of the chess game at the crime scene, as well as his various contacts with Kurenai. He continued to tell her of the plan Kurenai had come forward with, and the token she had given him: the wooden rook, given to her by a mysterious stranger that was somehow connected to the whole scheme. It was a sign that the stranger had somehow been working for Shikamaru. If the Nara had indeed hatched a plan before his untimely demise, it was possible there was a greater purpose to Kakashi turning in Naruto and Hinata. As it stood, he was still unsure about the many factors outside his scope. He finished by describing the debrief he and Kurnai had been given personally by Danzo. The old war-hawk had taken great pride in the action one of his top ANBU had taken, and made a big to-do about congratulating them both on the contribution they had just made to the village by capturing a suspect in the assignation of the Rokudaime. Kakashi had left feeling sick to his stomach, thus the bender he had just returned from. He needed to drown Danzo's sincere thanks out with as much sake as possible.

"And that about sums it up." He finished.

"So… you think that this… _plan_ could work?" Anko questioned seriously.

"Yes… but the one thing that wasn't factored in was Hinata. I'm sure she's not going to let this kind of thing pass without her own personal intervention. Naruto saved her life, several times, and there's no way she's going to stand aside while he is killed."

"And you're _sure _about this _feeling _of yours?"

"Yes… and that was just _part_ of my premonition…" He trailed off, unwilling to finish the statement.

"Well, what was the rest of it?"

Kakashi looked at her, an expression of horrified resignation on his face.

"I saw Hinata… walking alone in the darkness, a darkness so complete, you couldn't see your own nose."

"You mean you had a _vision_?"

"Yes."

Anko finally understood why he had been so reluctant to come forward with this.

"You've never had a _vision_ before. How did it happen?"

Kakashi gestured to the left-front pocket of his flak jacket.

"I was polishing up the gold watch Sarutobi gave me. You know, the one my father had wanted me to have, and I suddenly heard this… _voice_. I couldn't make out the words, but a moment later the vision hit me harder than anything I've ever felt or experienced before with my gut instinct. I somehow_ knew_ that what I was seeing was a vision of something that _will_ happen."

"What could it possibly mean?"

"I don't know, An-chan, but it can't be anything good."

She reached forward to comfort him, but he pulled away from the embrace, a stern expression marking his features.

"I need to go. The council is about to start. I have to be there."

Anko knew the meeting he referred to would cover a number of very important things, including, but not limited to, the fate of one Uzumaki Naruto.

"I understand…" He was already heading out the door. "Kakashi… I love you."

He gave her one last glance: a glance that said everything.

"I know."


End file.
